"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11
Whenever the opportunity arises to talk about Joy, I find it an easy assignment. If you have truly experienced the "Joy of your Salvation", you can easily get in touch with what the meaning of joy is. When faced with the task of writing a song about Joy, I once came up with this verse that really captures the essence of Joy.
"Remember this; whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2Corinthians 9:6
Recently I was reminded of both sides of the law of reciprocity. You have no doubt heard that 'what goes around, comes around' or, 'For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction'. As long as physical laws do not contradict God's principles, they are true. I believe all truth emanates from God and whatever is true has it's basis in God.
"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you." Psalm 86:5
Ever wonder what God thinks of you? Sometimes I have strong feelings about what I think He should think of me, especially when I mess up, but I have to be careful not to forget that God's essential feeling towards us is forgiving and good, abounding in love. Wow does that make me feel good to be reminded of that truth. I know that intellectually, but sometimes I don't feel very deserving of such love, goodness and forgiveness. I'm sure you know the feeling of when you see yourself pretty clearly and you begin to question just how much grace you should expect? His grace is always sufficient, fueled by this deep devoted love and merciful goodness that He has for us.
"Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD-- that you alone are the Most High over all the earth." Psalm 83:18
This is the last of the Psalms penned by Asaph. I think I know exactly how he feels. I know sometimes I feel like calling on the wrath of God to come down. How about His justice rolling down, or God to pull out the big guns and show everybody a thing or two. Just like He did with the Egyptians in the Red Sea, just like He did with satan during the temptation and just like He will do regarding everything, eventually. Oooooh… How I'd love to see Him get even or take care of business. What a day that would be.
"Glorious things are said of you, O City of God.." Psalm 87:3
The city referred to in this Psalm is Zion, the holy mountain, Jerusalem and it's beautiful temple there. This picture represents the future community of all believers. The writer is looking ahead to the Holy City of God in Revelation 21:27. The honor of living there will be granted to all whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. All believers will dwell in this place forever. We most often refer to it as Heaven. We don't talk about Heaven very often, but it is as real as hell and eventually everybody will end up in one place or the other. When I hear the word Heaven, I automatically am taken back to childhood and youth songs that talk about a wonderful place. So today I will share a few lyrics and a little about heaven. Here is a short list of my memory songs about Heaven.
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91: 1-2
These maybe some of the most beautiful words in the Psalms. What a wonderful picture. If asked what I need the most and if I were to be most honest I would probably say peace or rest. Since I want true rest so much, these verses can show me how to get it. I must dwell in the shelter of the Most High. What does dwell mean? It means to live, to abide, to take up residence, to hang out there most of the time. To hang out in the shelter of the Most High means that I must truly be focused on Him. My thoughts, actions and motives must be founded in Him and abide in Him.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." Psalm 51:10-12
David is writing here and is doing so; after the prophet Nathan came to him and told him a story about a man who had done terrible things, and David was incensed about that man's moral failure and suggested he be punished by death, and then asked Nathan who the man was and Nathan told him it was him. Oh the impact when you don't see it coming. You know the story; he had an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, and then murdered her husband to cover it up. No sin is too great to be forgiven.
"I will meditate on all your works and consider all you mighty deeds." Psalm 77:12
When we need comfort, encouragement , strength, and hope, two processes in particular can help us move forward even when we feel totally immobilized. Each day we should take appropriate time for meditation and consideration. But, in order for them to work, consideration must be longer than a fleeting thought and meditation must involve the truths of the Word of God.
"What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us, we will not hide it from their children, we will tell the next generation." Psalm 78:3-4a
Who do you think is going to tell the next generation? 'Who' is the 'we' that Asaph is referring to in this long Psalm? Is he saying that the priests (or the pastors) are going to carry the primary responsibility to tell the story of God's unmerited grace? Well, as best I can tell, people are not exactly flocking to churches very regularly to hear the truth, no matter how it is presented. How about small groups? Aren't we all supposed to be in one? I don't hear of loads of people coming to Christ in all the small groups that are being formed every day. How about Christian TV or radio? I haven't heard of any mass conversions, at least not in the U.S., and what is being aired isn't exactly the burning conversation topic out there of cutting edge transformation experiences. Maybe the internet is the answer. Lord knows we are all trying to stay up with the latest technology for spreading the gospel, but I don't hear of overwhelming results there either. Hey.... maybe some big church will come up with a program that we can all copy that will turn the corner on the next revival. Probably not, to tell you the truth.
I marvel at the wonder of God’s orderly nature. This month I’ve again buried myself in the book of Isaiah, which of course is a mini-Bible in itself, with 66 chapters (1-39 = God’s judgment, 40-66 = The Messiah prophesied in the 1st 39). And then I marveled at how He gifts us each so uniquely, and beautifully for who we are designed to be, in His image of us. I have concluded that He reaches each of us through our eventual amazement at the design of our self, and how we can choose to use these gifts for His glory, and empower others through them. One of my most pleasurable gifts has been music, and my God-breathed ability to sing – and at my slowness in recognizing that it was His intention, and not my doing at all. Any of you ever thought thoughts like, "wow – I really knocked that out of the park", and even developed your version of a swagger? Guilty as charged; convicted of pride. I was 40 before it even occurred to me to use this gift for Him, when I joined a "professional" (Ray’s definition: if you were paid to do it, you’re a professional) singing group and started singing the music of God (my opinion).
"But it is God who judges, He brings one down, He exalts another." Psalm 75:7
I am so glad that God is the judge. He is totally and completely and perfectly sovereign. He is judge, jury and prosecutor of the whole cosmos and He alone is worthy of that responsibility. His decisions are always right, all the time. Whatever He rules is His divine will. His preventive, permissive and divine decisions are constantly accurate and righteous. He needs no counsel, has impeccable understanding and always knows precisely what to do.
"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples." Psalm 96 :1-3
This opening phrase, 'sing to the Lord a new song' is used many times in the Psalms and I think for a good reason. We indeed should sing, all of us, everyone. Not only sing but praise His name, proclaim His salvation and declare His glory and marvelous deeds to everybody. So, why a new song? It must be new because His mercies are renewed every morning and God wants to do something fresh in all of us.
"If my people but would listen to me..." Psalm 81:13a
In one form or another, God sure says this a lot in His Word. The implications are many. This is one of those phrases that best can be illustrated word by word. Let me reflect a little on each word to give us some direction for devotional consideration today.
"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:3-4
In this Psalm, Asaph is pointing out how God will judge the wicked, especially as they have been unfair with those that God cares about and protects. God is an advocate for the orphans, widows, poor, needy, oppressed and weak. In being so he expects us to have the same heart and passion. We do, we should and we should more. We must not turn away from those who need help or who are desperate or downtrodden.
"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care." Psalm 95:6-7
There are many reasons to worship God. There are any reasons to bow down to Him and kneel before Him. One of the less obvious titles of God when considering worship is Shepherd. Shepherd seems like such a servant role. As a pastor I have a very serious connection to the Lord being my Shepherd. I am one of His flock and under His care. I am a person in His pasture. Sure He is my Maker and my God but also my Shepherd. He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
"The Lord knows the thoughts of man; He knows that they are futile." Psalm 94:11
We readily recognize that this statement is true because we are all too aware that even as believers we suffer futile thinking, particularly when we stray from His Word as the barometer for truth. How much more so then those who don't know Him or His truth? Obviously the futility of the thinking of the believer is overwhelming and inescapable.
"But you O Lord, are exalted forever." Psalm 92:8
Every once in awhile I try to put one of the Psalms in my own words. This particular one is pretty easy to do that. If you ever want to get more out of the Bible, try expressing one of the poetic passages in your own words. Note: I am not suggesting that we rewrite doctrinal sections of the Word of God. We don't need to add our thoughts to His Word. But, in these expressions in Psalms it is inspirational to put it in words that come from our own experiences. So here is my brief synopsis of Psalm 92
"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us.... yes, establish the work of our hands." Psalm 90:17
Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, a man of God. I don't think anyone would argue that Moses was a man of God. For all that God did through him and all he accomplished, near the end of his life he prays like this. I really enjoyed reading this prayer and it made me feel close to what Moses was feeling and how he was reaching out to God on behalf of the people even to the very end. Moses had a shepherd's heart. After all he had witnessed firsthand the Israelites wandering aimlessly in the wilderness for forty years and realizing the brevity of life he asks for favor and to do something valuable and lasting.
"The seas have lifted up, O Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea-- the Lord on high is mighty." Psalm 93:3-5
I am absolutely an ocean lover. I find almost nothing more inspirational than the sea. I also have tremendous respect for the power and awesomeness of the pounding waves, the currents and tides and the thundering surf. I hope you have personally experienced 'big surf' at some time in your life; if not in person, at least on film. In my estimation there is nothing else like it on earth. Mighty is a good word for that sound, louder than thunder, deeper than a sonic boom, when gargantuan waves crest, rollover and crash onto the ocean floor.
I love to share my devotional readings with you from Sarah Young's Jesus Calling - Enjoying Peace In His Presence, because generally I find them to be just what I need to hear for that day (or even for that minute). So, I went a little ahead to see what God has in store for me (us) for December. There is always a starting theme for the month, and December's theme was For unto us a child is born…And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6. I am sure that all of us know that passage, but what was amazing about this for me was that I had chosen that passage to be the Scripture verse for December for the Poster Board I had displayed in our kitchen area at work - the very same passage, so I thought I must be on to something.
"The man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish." Psalm 49:20
The sons of Korah, who are temple assistants and worship leaders for David share their last song here in a series of seven. Several noteworthy concepts about riches are illustrated in this passage that we use all the time. I'm sure you are aware of the commonly used phrases.... "you can't take it with you".... "you can't buy your way into heaven" "no person except Christ can redeem another person for any price". Before I go any further let me remind us that we are rich. A little lesson in numbers always helps to bring us back to reality when we like to compare ourselves only to the "super-rich". Here is a list of facts that are very, very convicting. If the world were only 100 people.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." Psalm 51:10-12
David is writing here and is doing so; after the prophet Nathan came to him and told him a story about a man who had done terrible things, and David was incensed about that man's moral failure and suggested he be punished by death, and then asked Nathan who the man was and Nathan told him it was him. Oh the impact when you don't see it coming. You know the story; he had an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, and then murdered her husband to cover it up. No sin is too great to be forgiven.
"Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might." Psalm 21:13
We certainly should Praise the Lord when we experience victory in our lives. We should thank Him and exalt Him and glorify His name for His strength. Every time, all the time, and anytime we see the hand of God, we should burst into song, poetry, dance, rap or whatever format that best describes the amazingness of His Sovereign Majesty. We could virtually, never endingly be glorifying God because of how wonderful, perfect, holy, loving, gracious, merciful, and righteous He is and always will be. But we don’t. Hey life gets busy, we work, and go to school, and clean the house, and take care of children. We play and shop, and take care of most of our duties and responsibilities. We drive, sleep, eat, watch T.V., daydream, and chit chat. We worry, stress, waste time, complain, and cause trouble. We help, serve, attend, listen, endure, and wait. Life is very full of emotions and activities and needs and issues and all kinds of stuff.
"May His name endure forever, may it continue as long as the sun." Psalm 72:17
This Psalm is written by Solomon and is about a King requesting God’s help for his son to rule justly and wisely. It is also a picture of Christ’s endless reign as Messiah. He alone can rule perfectly and with peace.
"I will praise you forever for what you have done, in your name I will hope, for your name is good I will praise you in the presence of your saints." Psalm 52:9
Psalm 52 is inspired by a specific event in Old Testament history. Doeg an Edomite; betrayed David and killed God’s priests, over 80 of them and their town, its inhabitants, and animals. Doeg, though he was a hero as an effective assassin of Saul, and just because he was following orders, doesn’t exonerate him from responsibility of his overly thorough job. The first 7 verses of this short Psalm speak of Doeg’s boasting, deceit and consequence; the final two verses are David’s contrasting testimony that speaks of trusting God, praising Him, serving His name and giving God the glory.
"These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face." Psalm 50:21
This Psalm is penned by Asaph, one of David's chief musicians. I'm sure David was pleased with what he wrote. Because like the writings of the sons of Korah in the previous eight Psalms, it reflects some of the same beautiful depictions of God and the revealing pictures of the either insincere or wicked nature of man.
"Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that [are] within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice." Lev. 16:13-15
Most Americans think of Pilgrims when they think of “Thanksgiving.” That is understandable, since American school children inevitably learn about the thanksgiving celebrations of the Pilgrims and Indians in New England in the 1600’s.
"I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever." Psalm 45:17
A little history on this Psalm is necessary in order to best understand all the symbolism and teaching that can be derived from it. Psalms 42 through 49 are written by the sons of Korah who were appointed temple choir leaders by David. They may have written this Psalm 45 for Solomon to help celebrate his wedding. The language has always been representative of Christ and His Church. Beautiful picture, wonderful words and this last verse shares God's commitment to sustain the Lord's memory, and that of His Bride the church, among the nations through the test of time. God will not let the church, that is the bride of Christ be forgotten. He will hold up the church in times of persecution and never let His bride be forsaken. These are encouraging words.
"God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1
Recently, I have been both tremendously encouraged and quite discouraged and this verse today is especially good for me. Let me break it down for you word by word with my first-thoughts reactions and responses about each word as I tried to let this all-important verse sink into my mind.
"We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago." Psalm 44:1
Spending a little time alone and reminiscing can be a very helpful experience. But as it is with many helpful things in life... too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Recently I had the opportunity to do some serious soul-searching while I took a mini-tour of some of the places where I have lived and served in years past. I went to the house and neighborhood where I lived through my Junior and Senior High days. Drove by my old schools and places I used to hang out and where a lot of my memories were made. This journey brought with it reminders of successes and failures in my life. More than anything it brought a precious satisfaction of knowing God's hand was at work all throughout my life.
"For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." 1 John 5:4
I like the word VICTORY and the strong feelings of elation that accompany it. Originally applied to warfare, Webster defines Victory as 'the overcoming of an enemy or antagonist'. That definition seems to fit when we think about the real spiritual warfare and enemy we face everyday.
"Send forth your light and truth, let them guide me, let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell." Psalm 43:3
Lord, can we get some light and truth on whatever the subject is? When we feel persecuted or misunderstood, when the world is squeezing the joy out of us and circumstances are overwhelming and we are oppressed from within and without, we should ask for these two things. You see they are the solution, the antidote for what ails us. Think about it. We need truth and light because our hopelessness and downheartedness comes from darkness and lies. And we all know who brings the darkness and spreads the lies. Amazing isn't it that when we consider the opposite of what the Psalmist prays for, we discover what the problem really is for us.
"For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end" Psalm 48:14
This God is my God.
"Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises." Psalm 47:6
Do you sing? That question usually infers that if you say yes, then you sing well. Everybody should sing, I think often, but at least every once in awhile. And.... when we do sing, a big portion of what we should sing about should be Him. Too much of the music we listen to is about stuff that we shouldn't even be thinking about, much less singing the words that describe it in gory details. This morning I listened to two sources of music. I have turned my radio dial on one of the buttons to 91.5 KUSC. If you are not familiar with that station it is the last Bastian of free Classical music. The guy who is the host says from time to time that it is God's music. OK I'll buy that to a degree in that it is definitely inspirational and certainly doesn't ever detract me from what I should be doing or thinking. So I encourage you to at least use it as a stand-by to deliver you from the drivel of negativity or seductive slop that plays on secular stations. Of course, my mainstay is KFSH 95.9.
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you O God." Psalm 42:1
I am returning from a couple of days of soul searching. I have been all over the spectrum of my life's experiences, from sentimental melancholia to confrontation of some unforgiveness in my heart. I had decided to spend some time visiting some of the places of my past and trying to tie up some loose ends with my feelings and plans and expectations, especially as related to the last ten years. So I started up the coast and swung through Seal Beach where for less than a year Dawn and I lived in a transitional time in our lives (between ministries). We loved that community right on the beach, but for some reason ended up in Brea and Anaheim working for Nutri-System and not the store close to where we wanted to be.
"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen." Psalms 41:13
The 150 Psalms are divided into five books. The first book, chapters 1-41 take us on a journey through suffering, sorrow and great joy. It teaches us about God’s eternal love and care for is and that we should trust Him even in the everyday experiences of life. Psalm 41:13 is a doxology or closure to the first book and just like in real life, from time to time we must wrap things up and the begin anew.
"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1
Isn't the term patiently waiting an oxymoron or something? The promise of the Lord is wonderful. He promises us that when we wait on Him He will lift us up. I find myself being extremely patient and longsuffering in some situations and in others I cannot wait one more moment. There doesn't necessarily seem to be a rhyme or reason for why my patience is so challenged in one area of my life and seemingly bottomless in another. This whole Psalm 40 is full of some splendid illustrations of many aspects of our lives but right out of the chute I have to address patience.
"If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand." Psalm 37:23
Let's face it, sometimes we are just gonna find the pothole, slip, or trip, or mess up because after all, we are human, right? Absolutely, if you are not human today you can just go ahead and ascend and leave the rest of us behind. David says that even if the Lord is delighting in us and He makes our steps firm, we may still stumble. Ahhhh, but we will not fall for the Lord will uphold us with His hand. This is so encouraging to me.
"How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 36:7
If you know me, you know that I don't often quote people but today there is a quote rattling around in my mind as I read through Psalm 36 that I can't resist. I think it was Jiminy Cricket who said, "Makes no difference who you are." Granted, that may be taken a little out of context because he was singing about wishing on a star, right? This is a practice that I don't encourage, but the truth within the fantasy is still true. It really does not make a difference who you are, when you trust in God's grace. You could be the most awful person in the world (by the way I am not taking a poll on who you think that is :) or you could be the most wonderful person in world (no voting for yourself :) ... it really makes no difference who you are.
Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Lahoma:
"Your love, O God, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies" Psalm 36:5
I traveled to San Francisco last weekend to participate in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. I had decided not to drive because flights to SFO are usually short and cheap, and I wouldn’t miss work because I could fly up on Saturday and coming back Sunday night. Plus not sitting in a car for six hours after running 13.1 miles is always a BIG plus for me! The flight up was uneventful, and I managed to maneuver through public transportation and enjoyed the challenge of getting to my hotel and finding my friends who were joining me in town mid day. The race was great, and I got to share with several people along the way. It seemed like a seamless adventure… until I started my journey home on Sunday night.
"And the name of the city from that time will be: The Lord is there." Ezekiel 48:35b
Ezekiel begins with a description of the holiness of God that Israel despised and ignored. As a result, God’s presence departed from the temple, the city, and the people. Simply put, “THE LORD WAS NOT THERE.” Ezekiel ends with a detailed vision of the new temple, the new city, the new people, all demonstrating God’s holiness. The pressures of everyday life can persuade us to focus only on the here at now, and forget God. That is why worship is so important; it takes our eyes off our current worries and gives us a glimpse of God’s holiness and allows us to look toward the future kingdom. God’s presence makes everything glorious, and worship brings us into His presence.
"I will exalt you, O LORD. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever." Psalm 30:1a, Psalm 30:12b
I do well with lists when it comes to fulfilling my responsibilities. I love to check it off and get it done. Whenever the Bible can give me a list, I find it easier to understand how I am supposed to respond. In Psalm 30, David starts and finishes with praising and thanking God. In between verses 1a and 12b, I am convinced the list of reasons David gives to praise God and be thankful can help us to be more grateful as we check off the list in our own lives.
"I said to the Lord, You are my Lord, apart from You I have no good thing." Psalm 16:2
Who else but to the Lord would you ever say, "You are my Lord?" Seems obvious enough. Yet, sometimes something else becomes our lord. Or, we get so obsessed with something you’d think it was our lord. The safeguard against such faulty temptation is to remind ourselves that God provides everything and owns everything. Outside of Him, there is no good thing. Unless He is the Lord of anything you can think of, it cannot be good.
Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Ray Beeman:
History can be interesting, especially if we can learn from it. As I considered Pastor Fred’s next sermon, the one entitled "Jesus Wept", my first (lame) thought was that it was the shortest sentence in the Bible. Then I thought about the last "sentence" in the Bible, John’s exclamation point of "Amen" in Revelation:22:21. OK, that’s technically not a complete sentence, but who cares?
"O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long? Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace." Psalms 6
I don’t like to consider the Lord’s anger. Recently, I saw a billboard that said, "Don't make me come down there.” God.
"You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors. But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple. Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make straight your way before me. Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit. Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield." Psalms 5:4-12
There are three things that the remainder of Psalms 5 makes clear; three things that we should be mindful of at all times. In the real and often difficult world we live in it is good to remember that: 1. God is Holy and will not be mocked. 2. Because of His mercy He will hear us, help us, protect us, and bless us. 3. God will deal with His enemies.
"The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." Psalm 29:11
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish" Psalms 1:1-6
Life is a series of choices and we will always find ourselves, in one way or another, back at the proverbial fork in the road. We are by design, choices makers, responsible for our free will and we decide which way to go, what to do, and how to respond to opportunities, situations, and circumstances. As much as we would like to explain away or excuse our dilemmas and quagmires, alas we are the common denominator in all our problems. Even when there is a good reason for how we manage to get ourselves where we end up, even then we are responsible for how we handle ourselves from there. Oh, more choices.
"My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden to heavy to bear."" Psalm 38:4
How is your conscience working today? Are you even conscious of your conscience? Are you conscientious of your conscience? Why are the words con and science in the word conscience? Enough with the questions today. So what is my point here, so far? Guilt is not a bad thing sometimes. We should feel the pangs of guilt and many times they can manifest themselves with physical maladies.... such as aches and pains and unknown nausea and illness. David's sin, whatever it is this time, has caused him to be sick of himself. His conscience is working overtime.
"To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever." [REFERENCE]
We would all admit that life is sometimes like a roller coaster, a real white knuckler. So, we hang on for dear life, through the ups and downs, the highs and lows, knowing the ride will end eventually. David, in Psalm 28, starts at the bottom considering God not hearing him or speaking to him. He rather graphically describes that feeling, saying basically that to have God not hear or speak would be like hell. If you have ever felt like God didn’t hear you or wasn’t speaking to you, it is like hell, eternal separation from God
"The Lord is my light and salvation, who shall I fear?" Psalm 27:1a
When I consider fear, several things come immediately to mind. My earliest recollection of being afraid, maybe like yours, is fear of the dark. How fitting that David begins this Psalm with, The Lord is my light. How true! We never need to fear the dark, because He is the light.
"in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me." Psalm 25:2
We have been singing parts of this particular Psalm in Worship recently; and I know it is especially precious to a few of you because it addresses deep issues, deep needs, and the depths of God’s promises to us to pardon us, guide us, remember us, and protect us. An interesting fact about the Psalms is that the word enemies is spoken about in 72 of them. Enemies are not only those who oppose us, but also anything that opposes God’s standards, principles or teachings. In other words, all of our temptations, weaknesses and lusts, like pride, greed, power and control. Our greatest enemy is Satan, and of course ourselves, when we choose to be persuaded by him. Frankly, I most often read David’s writings and think of enemies as those people who wanted to destroy him and yet it never was anyone who actually put him at risk as much as his own passions and self-centeredness. Probably true for all of us. I believe we all fall victims to our own folly and blame it on outside forces when almost all our real battles are fought between our ears. Don’t get me wrong, the devil will use whatever means, from within or without to steal our joy, ruin our witness or stifle our spiritual development. But, when we give in or give up the process is simplified. So many of us are prone to self-destruct, which means Satan need not get involved. You see, when the world and the flesh trip us up so easily, the devil pretty much leaves us be. So what do we do? We do what David did…… really make a daily, moment by moment effort to be conscious of the battle, our weaknesses, His promises and the power we have in Him to be obedient, disciplined and righteous.
"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous." Psalm 19:7-9
When I read Psalm 19, I can get so caught up in the first few verses about the creation and the heavens, I most often don’t really take the time to focus on consideration of the second half of what David is sharing. So compelling and beautiful are the illustrations about His handiwork and how breathtaking they are, I am completely fulfilled and satisfied by the wonder of the sun and how it moves and functions all under the canopy of God’s supervision. Indeed nature and the heavens are a constant witness to God’s glory, but what about the rest of the Psalm? Change gears with me here and now read again verses 7, 8 & 9. Absolute truth is a deep subject and David wants us to know that the beauty of it is as awe inspiring as the stars in the heavens. Look at the promise that came after every phrase describing the truth as the Law, statutes, precepts, commands and ordinances, after the commas comes blessings that are ours when we hunger for the Word as much as we can be enthralled by creation. I will list them so you can join me in their appreciation.
Those of you who follow my devotionals know by now that I get a lot of my inspirations from the book "Search My Heart, O God" by Kay Arthur , sub-titled "365 Appointments With God" , from which I read one every day. I love the book because each day's readings are "short and to the point." I frequently dog-ear pages that I think would make a good devotional message to encourage others. The one on September 14th had a message that fit the bill, so I felt led to share it with you today. It started out, "Do you have a ho-hum Christianity?" "Ho-hum" is not a phrase that's used that much today, but when you do hear it, you instantly know what's being conveyed. So, I went to the Web to get a definition of the word. It had two: (1) "dull, boring, flat, out-of-date, or lacking in originality"; (2) "indifferent or lacking enthusiasm". Well, I thought that neither of the definitions fit the Christianity I know, but they sure might fit how some of us seem to act in our treatment of practicing the faith that we say we love. The article talked about how we present ourselves as Christians, such that people looking at us from the outside, would be able to see that we are different than others who do not consider themselves Christians. I guess the real question is, "Do we practice what we preach? Or, on the other hand, are many of us guilty of too frequently just going through the motions? That means that, no matter what else may be going on in our lives, we show up (sometimes, but not always with consistency) on Sunday mornings for the obligatory 90-minute service, and greet each with a smile and handshake (or in the case at Grace Harbor, with a hug) because we think that's what's expected of us. Yet, on Monday through Saturday, is there anything that we do, with our lives as "practicing Christians", that is any different than what "non-Christians" do with their lives? I think that the key might lie in the word "practicing". How many of us are really "practicing Christians, and what does that mean? Like so many other things that some of us might be passionate about, i.e., reality shows, sports, television, movies, etc., are we equally as passionate with our time in pursuing spiritual things that have eternal meaning?
"I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer." Psalm 17:6
David walked close to the Lord. Even though his life was a veritable rollercoaster of ups and downs, a white knuckle ride that spanned from rebellion and defeat, all the way to revelation and victory. He kept pursuing God. No matter what, he relentlessly sought the Lord, no matter what his circumstance
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord my rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14
Not too often will I write two devotionals from one Psalm, as I continue to work through all 150 of mostly David’s writings. But this verse will be an exception because I quote it so often.
"I love you O Lord my strength, the Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:1-2
God indeed is my rock. Nothing else, NO ONE else is as sure, as strong or as reliable. He is my only fortress, my only deliverer, my only refuge, my only shield, my only salvation provider and my only stronghold, I hang onto God. I often hang onto the Lord because nothing else can help and nobody else can do what He can do. He can change things, nobody else can. He can make things happen. He alone is able to move heaven and earth. That is why He is awesome and why I need Him, love Him and worship him. No matter what happens or what kind of help I need, or how hurt, desperate, needy, confused or troubled I get, He is my rock.
"The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations." Psalm 33:11
What is the plan and purpose of God? I read here that they are firm, and long lasting and that they come from His heart, but what exactly are they. Scripture tells us that He plans to bless us, and prosper us, to love us, and provide for us. So, why is it that we struggle so hard to discover His plan and purpose for us? I have always believed that God has our best interest in mind. My God is a loving and compassionate God, that cares deeply and sincerely for His people. My problem is that I too often forget to run my plans and purposes by Him. I seem to get an idea going without really ever checking it with Him. How could I change that? How could I get to where I figure out that I am in God's will, before I figure out that I am out of His will? I am sure that you ask these questions too.
"You are my hiding place." Psalm 32:7a
The short phrase Hiding Place evokes a number of thoughts and memories. My first recollection of hearing these words takes me back to summer camp as a youth. A pastor shared in a message the testimony of Corrie Ten Boom, who was a Dutch Holocaust Survivor, who was arrested because she hid Jews in a special Hiding Place in her room. She was responsible for the safety of scores of Jews and when she was released from prison due to a clerical error, she later learned that she was to be executed the following week. To her that Hiding Place was where God provided for the safety of the innocent and persecuted. Such faith and faithfulness has made her testimony one of the most compelling ever. She once said, God doesn’t have problems, only plans. That brings to mind my other thought about Hiding Place, the worship song which says, You are my Hiding Place. You always fill my heart, with songs of deliverance, whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You, I will trust in you, let the weak say I am strong in the strength of my Lord.
"Taste and see that the Lord is good..." Psalm 34:8a
I really am totally inspired by these few choice words from Psalm 34. The whole Psalm is about God helping us in times of trouble. David writes these particular words after he feigns insanity to escape from Abimelech. So, David is pretty amped up about God's deliverance of him and is appreciating the depth of his relationship with the Almighty. The knowledge of the awesomeness of God, and trusting Him completely, is one of the richest experiences of life. For me, when David puts together taste and sight in discovering the goodness of God, it illustrates an amazing correlation.
"Test me, O Lord and try me, examine my heart and mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth." Psalm 26:2-3
I do trust God, and God alone, because He forgives my sin and loves me anyway. He is the only one that I would honestly allow to examine my heart and mind. I know how unacceptable some of my thoughts are and some of the motives of my heart, too. Because of His ever present, perfect, and merciful love, I put myself in the court of His consideration to be tested and tried. Even if I fail, He will restore me. Even if I am guilty, He will acquit me. No matter what, He is totally trustworthy with my very soul. I believe completely in His righteousness, that by the blood of Christ I am spared from judgment. Though I suffer consequences I will not be condemned, and I am not lost. Knowing this is foundational to my faith. Whatever situation or circumstances besets me, “I know whom in I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able, to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.” The day of judgment is coming and I trust my eternal fate to my Lord Jesus. That is why I walk by faith continually, even when I stumble, and sometimes stumble and fall, and then crawl. God gives me strength to carry on, no matter what.
"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." Psalms 10:14, 17 & 18
I am so moved by the fact that God cares. With the rampant oppression of countless people around the world and the overwhelming number of orphans in the third world due to the continuing spread of the Aids virus and political conditions that victimize people, my God cares. We should be like Him in this way. We should not look away from the suffering and grief, but respond because God has given us the resources to help. I know times are tough but I encourage you to consider sponsoring a child. We do, through Compassion International and our relationship of support and correspondence is a rewarding experience. If you are not already doing this, maybe get a group to do it. Like any commitment, it is serious, yet if we want to be a people, like David, after God’s own heart we cannot pretend not to see or know or care. He cares, we care, and that is how it should work. That is why we tithe to Missions as Grace Harbor Ministries. Because we care, we are involved, we respond, we commit, and we follow through. We should respond to the true victims in this world with compassion and support. We should do it individually and corporately. We can choose in this life to be part of the solution or not. If we don’t help in some way, we miss the opportunity, the responsibility and the blessing.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Psalms 22:1a
The Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord was to be a descendant of David and many of the Psalms refer to Him. Psalms 22 is one of the major sources of prophecy regarding the coming Messiah and refers specifically to Jesus suffering on the cross.
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me, all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Psalms 23
There are passages of scripture that almost everyone knows. Not many I regret to say, but other than John 3:16, I would say that the 23rd Psalm is probably the most recognizable Biblical reference, by far. Think about it for a moment, no other chapter is as well known. The only other possible comparison is Genesis 1:1, but Genesis 1:2 is sure harder. You could quote a bunch of the Ten Commandments, but maybe not where to find them or the Lord’s Prayer. Because it is known by its chapter number, I believe the 23rd Psalm maybe just about the best known chapter in the Bible.
"Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted." Psalms 9:11-12
In this life, we will face a number of injustices. Some from the sin and wickedness in the world, some from within the family of God (regrettably true) and some that we just bring down on ourselves or emanate from within us.
"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." Psalms 10:14, 10: 17, 10: 18
I am so moved by the fact that God cares.
Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Kim:
"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2
Though it is impossible to control the circumstances and situations that occur in our lives, we have absolute control as to how we respond to those situations. At the end of the day, many unexpected situations and circumstances may hit our life, but what speaks to the wisdom in a person is how they respond, not how they react to those difficult situations.
"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!" Psalms 8:1a
Much of the early contemporary praise and worship music was very repetitious. Sometimes just one or two Bible verses sung repeatedly often sung in a round. One of the criticisms of this music was its simplicity as compared to the great hymns. Yet, I must confess, in my young developing faith, this style both got me in touch with who I was singing to and caused me to memorize more scripture than any other mode of teaching I had thus far in my life at the time. Whether it was the one word song, “Alleluia” or the never ending choruses of, “Father, I adore You”, I learned the Word of God and how to connect with God, the object of my praise when I was worshipping.
"He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head." Psalm 7:14-16
Sometimes it can feel like everything and everyone is out to get you. Some days you wish you would have stayed in bed. We make enough of our own mistakes, missteps and miscues without having misunderstandings, misguided murmurings and mischievous malcontent added to my miserable mix. David was often “fed up”, “maxed out”, and “done” with troublemakers and enemies and any and all who would judge him or destroy him. He turns to God and asks to be delivered and dealt with if necessary. We all know too well this kind of utter frustration usually fueled by people and predicaments most often is totally out of our control. Turning these matters over to God is essential. David writes three very picturesque verses to vent his vitriol and I think not only unloads his perception of his persecutors, but maybe, gets just a little picture of his own potential for problems. I know I sometimes see myself in my own sermons. Hmmmm.
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
I hope that time has come for you, or at least is soon to come when you could with total honesty say that you worship the Father in spirit and truth. What kind of spirit? A spirit of humility, confidence, and passion. What truth? The truth as only He can reveal it to us. When we face ourselves and get over ourselves and begin to live “in Him” outside ourselves and beyond ourselves, then we begin to experience true worship. The true worship that puts Him first, that would do anything for Him. The kind of worship that is free to exult in Him, and praise Him, and glorify Him. The kind of worship that is servant-hearted, and generous, and willing and totally trusting in Him.
"The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord is on His heavenly throne." Psalms 11:4a
Our God reigns! He rules! He is sovereign! Whatever else happens, that will not change. Anything you can imagine happening, however devastating cannot alter that fact. Even if the earth evaporates, God will still be on His heavenly throne. Let’s make this the ultimate truth even more personal; with a list of scenarios that could concern us, some more serious, some more trivial. Please feel free to add or modify any so they apply better, in case I miss some.
"All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man[a] as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever." 1 Peter 1:24-25
This morning I was watching KTLA5 news. The entertainment reporter interviewed Jeff Foxworthy. This month he will be hosting a new game show called "Bible Quiz."
"The fool who says in his heart, "There is no God." Psalm 14:1
Strong words. As a matter of fact, we are cautioned not to use this word flippantly. It is serious business to refer to someone as a fool. Yet the very definition of fool is to not believe or need God. How easy that seems to make it if you can convince yourself there is NO God. No God- No consequences. No God- no absolutes, No God- No fear of God. Then those who are wise in their own eyes become God, or at least their own God. I cannot even imagine what the concept of no God looks like or feels like. David is reminded of the foolish as he once again considers what it must look like from Gods perspective the way mankind acts; the way they are evil, they way they are oppressive and insensitive and self-consumed. The condition and way of man must grieve God.
"I will sing to the Lord for He has been good to me." Psalm 13:6
As we work our way through this Psalm I am struck by the stark contrast between David’s utter dismay and his tremendous faith. He is so like us. I’ll admit it, he’s like me. I can in one breath be beside myself and in the next breath be completely together.
"Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men." Psalms 12:1
Sometimes do you wonder where all the Christians have gone? It is becoming increasingly difficult to identify who the believers are. It seems like many people are the same. This Psalm goes on to describe how everybody lies, deceives, boasts, oppresses others and even struts around when what is vile is honored. Kind of a picture of the degradation, corruption, inappropriateness, nastiness, and general immorality that is so rampant today. You know the contrasts, wrong is right, bad is good, down is up, etc. etc.? As we discussed over and over again in our study of the Judges; "Everyone does what is right in their own mind." There are seemingly no standards and no absolutes. The concept of integrity is jaded at best. I think we need to speak up. I can no longer remain silent. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Psalms 12 says in verse 69, "The words of the Lord are flawless". That is where we must base our trust, in God’s word and not in the words of men. We are being lied to constantly, deceived, mislead, manipulated, and played. We are hiking aimlessly in new territory without a compass and it seems to me we are heading south in a big fat hurry, as the old saying goes. Somebody stand up and say stop!! The Lord will protect us as individuals but I am concerned about the nation and the church that if we do not resist and repair the erosion of the values that are the foundation of who we are, the acceleration of degradation will pick up exponential speed.
"And the name of the city from that time will be: THE LORD IS THERE."
" Ezekiel 48:35b
Ezekiel begins with a description of the holiness of God that Israel despised and ignored. As a result, God’s presence departed from the temple, the city, and the people. Simply put, "THE LORD WAS NOT THERE." Ezekiel ends with a detailed vision of the new temple, the new city, the new people, all demonstrating God’s holiness. The pressures of everyday life can persuade us to focus only on the here at now, and forget God. That is why worship is so important; it takes our eyes off our current worries and gives us a glimpse of God’s holiness and allows us to look toward the future kingdom. God’s presence makes everything glorious, and worship brings us into His presence.
I’ve been thinking about my kids a lot lately, and looked up just a few of the many scriptures that talk about children, and applied them to my 5 “kids”, now 29-51!
"Give ear to my words. O Lord, consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You, and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:1-3
In the fundamental developmental intense years of my early faith and walk, there were a few fresh songs that had a profound impact on who I am in Him. Psalm 5:1-3, is one of them. To this day, these words are often in my morning worship, prayers, meditations, and seek of the Lord. Sometimes when I can’t focus or can’t stay on task before the Lord, I sing these words.
"The tongue has the power of life and death; and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21
During my early years as a Christian, I had the blessing of working with Junior and Senior High School students, then College students and Young Adults. Throughout this period, I got to know many different people, from different homes and up bringing. I remember the people who were most confident, well adjusted, outgoing, and had high self-esteem came from homes where the words that were spoken to them were positive, encouraging and uplifting. On the other hand, the people who lacked confidence and had lower self-esteem came from backgrounds where they were not encouraged, were belittled and told horrible things like “you’re worthless”, “you’re and idiot”, “you’ll never amount to anything” or worse yet, “I can’t believe that you’re my child – look at you!”
"not covet your neighbor's wife, your neighbor's house, or his manservant’s’ or maidservants, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus 20:17
This is a familiar topic for me, I know, but every time I throw a bunch of stuff away, whether it is mine or someone else's or who knows who's, I am struck by the utter volume and magnitude of how much we have that we obviously don't need. Equally as mind-boggling is that we hang on to stuff until it is practically no good to anyone.
"If on part suffers, every part suffers with it, if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it." I Corinthians 12:26-27
The apostle Paul wrote this passage of scripture in his letter to the Church of believers in Corinth. During this period of history, the Christian Church was wrestling with people wanting to be the center of attention and looked at as being better than the next person based on their spiritual gifts, knowledge of scripture and various duties with the Church.
"One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand." One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
For those of you who may not know yet, we have a new kitten in the Ballester house, and his name is Moses! He was named this by Emily because she rescued him out of the "bulrushes" of our full force backyard sprinkler system on a hot July morning when it was going to be blazing hot, he was soaking wet, hairless and starving… he was only 2 days old, abandoned by his mother for some reason, but scooped up and welcomed into our home. He has since been amply bottle fed and nurtured and I am happy to report has grown to be a chubby, active BOUNCING baby boy under the tender care of his adoptive parents, Emily and Andrew. As a result of this new family addition, (or a Divine inspiration in my private Bible study time), I have been studying the life of the original "Moses" these past few weeks.
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30
One of the reasons I love Proverbs is that they are often stand-alone verses that are jam-packed with nuggets of wisdom, within a mine of truth. You just have to dig and work at it diligently to claim the rewards.
"Honor your father and your mother," Exodus 20:12a
This has been on my heart a lot lately. Let me give you ten recent reasons why.
"Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you." Jeremiah 17:4
Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is anybody's fault anymore. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, takes responsibility for anything anymore. I am not completely sure this hasn't always been true. But, I do know that it is increasingly true that the buck stops nowhere. It just keeps getting passed on and on and on. Yes, yes I know that sometimes people own up, fess up and face the music for what they have said or done or even thought, but, by and large it is very unusual for humans just to take full responsibility. When we do, we often explain away the beauty of that with a jillion excuses or reasons as we call them.
"O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." Selah. But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Selah" Psalm 3:1-8
This Psalm is written when David is running from his rebellious son, Absalom and a host of traitors. Can you identify with David? I can. Sometimes when people love and circumstances go against us, it is tempting to think that God also is against us. David reminds us the opposite is true. When everything seems to be falling apart, God is still for us. He has never nor will He ever leave us or forsake us. When we have that sinking feeling that all is lost He is our shield that protects us and will lift us out of the depths of despair.
"Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas, sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet." Acts 5:36
I recently received word that a dear friend of mine, Bob Neill, passed away. He and I go back 40+ years, and as I wrap my mind around the fact that he is in heaven now, and no longer here, I am overwhelmed with feelings of appreciation for who he was in my life. I last saw Bob just a few months ago when he and another friend, on behalf of Transformation Ministries, visited me here at Grace Harbor to pray for me and encourage me. It was a sweet meeting.
"Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ? Selah . Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD. Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." Psalms 4:1-8
Today, I have a song in my heart. Most days I have a song that is playing in my mind throughout the day. David wrote a lot of songs in his Psalms. Whether we are rejoicing or grieving, God wants to hear our song. Even if it is a pitiful, woeful song, God listens and cares. As David’s words illustrate, the Lord wants our undivided attention. He requires of us to seek no false gods and no delusions. How often we are swayed by some fanciful consideration that causes us to stray into delusional thinking or even idolatry. I doubt seriously that any of us has any actual bronze, wood or graven images that we bow down to or make offerings to or seek for counsel. Yet we have many "mental idols" or "distracting little deities" that we spend more time, talent and treasures pursuing than the one true living God. That indeed is a shame that does not glorify God.
"I do this for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:23
I have a friend who shares with me A Blessing every week. A written sentence, or paragraph or two, that communicates a prayer to God, from the heart. I believe my friend writes these himself and sends them to Pastors, Leaders, Missionaries and all Servants or the Lord he knows. He does so as if he is giving us a prayer to pray with him. Can't tell you how often his words, prayers, blessings have so touched the heart of where I am.
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain." Psalms 2:1
Why…is a good question these days.
Why is everything happening like it is?
Why all the “saber rattling” and all the political imbroglio?
Why are so many people plotting and conspiring on every level?
"Blessed is the man" Psalms 1:1a
I want to spend some time in the Psalms. This devotional ministry has been ongoing for many years and I have so appreciated the many contributors. We are so blessed to have such inspired and creative writers, many from the Grace Harbor Church Council, the Colombia Mission Team members, and others, too. I hope you are as encouraged and convicted as I am by the daily devotionals.
"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it." Hebrews 2:1
Christ is above everything. We must pay the most careful attention to that.
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him" Matthew 7:11
This story really touched my heart and I want to share it with you. How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? Enjoy this and please don't miss much more. With His Loving Heart, Pastor Fred
"Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and the people all lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground." Nehemiah 8:6
Tonight my face is on the ground. I am bowed down and worshiping my King. I am in utter awe of His grace and forgiveness. I say "Amen! Amen!" to Him. 'Amen' means "So be it" and I am asking God that His will be done in every area of my life, and in the life of His church.
As Pastor of Grace Harbor I must lead you in worship, not only in principle, but also by example. Sometimes as this verse says, we must bow down and worship Him with our faces to the ground and do so after we have lifted our hands to praise Him. Tonight, I am lifting my hands and praising Him by counting my blessings in the midst of some despair. The more I count, the less I despair. The less I despair, the more I can count. Once I get started I can just keep going. But I had to start by praising Him.
"Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up." Nehemiah 8:5
The book Ezra opened was probably the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible). The people, out of reverence for The Word, stood all at once. We actually do this each time we gather to worship at Grace Harbor. The people listened attentively as Ezra read and their lives were changed.
As I read this Max Lucado message, I found it very interesting that my neighbor has "gone to war" with me and Lois, and has made herself totally unreasonable and unlovable. Lois, to her credit, took the high road, and while I was dreaming up ways to "strike back" against this woman's incorrigible "well-poisoner" attitude, she suggested that we pray the "BLESS" prayer for her. So, rather than play to this woman's level, with a self-righteous anger (I do that very well), Lois has us both praying for her thus:
Our Bible verses for today come from Ephesians.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. " Ephesians 6:10-18
"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart." Proverbs 17:3
I think everything gets tested. Creation is full of examples of how things get tested. Human life is certainly a never-ending progression of trials and tests. It takes intense heat to purify gold and silver.
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32
I heard an interesting reference today when a coworker described the difficult people she had to deal with as EGRs. Instantly I started trying to decipher its meaning and even came up with a few good ones. Starting with 'E', I went down the line…egregious, enormous, extreme…you get the picture. Until finally I asked, "What’s an EGR?"
"Apply your hearts to instruction and your ears to words of instruction." Proverbs 23:12
I do so enjoy reading, studying and applying the principles of The Book of Proverbs. No wonder it is called The Book of Wisdom. Each proverb has meaning, substance and worthy application to real life. The heart and soul of Proverbs 23:12 jumps up with the first word, APPLY. Truth, God's Word, wisdom, knowledge, instruction, understanding all have limited worth and effect without application. Many people have told me over the years regarding my preaching that it is all about the application and the take home points. Sound doctrine is essential, compelling delivery is really important, but more vital is the absolute necessity to be able to give the listeners something to take home. Take home points are more important than humorous stories or textual analysis or theological constructs. People really want to know not only what your points are, but what to do with them. The proverb though is not written just to preachers so they study hard, get real and feed the sheep something that is spiritually nutritious. The proverb is written to believers, so they can learn to listen to the Spirit instruct their hearts. My job on Sundays is more to teach how to access the truth for self-feeding than it is to hand-feed anybody. In my life, as a Bible learner I seek knowledge and instruction from His truth so I can obtain His wisdom. Of course I do some reading of the writings of people far smarter, deeper and more learned than me. But, that does not replace my responsibility to dig into the Word as an individual Christian desiring truth. I don't ever read other Pastor's sermons and then reformat them on Sundays. I don't go to websites that outline sermon series or give clever illustrations to entertain. If I hear something pertinent that applies I will weave it in, but most often I use what is happening in my life or in the last week or two or even that morning that is fresh and real life oriented. I share this to encourage us all to let the Word of God speak to us personally. I never want to make sermons like some kind of a "big pitcher- little cups" type of experience.
"Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, through all generations. For the Lord will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants." Psalm 135:13-14
I just shared this whole passage from Psalm 135 in a recent devotional, but these two verses deserve a devotional thought, and are on my heart today. God has always been the way He was and is. He is famous for His compassion and protection, deliverance and provision for His people. From generation to generation it is passed down, His reputation for justice, mercy and grace. Isn't it funny that we initially think of justice as getting punished, mercy as catching a break and grace as only totally unmerited favor? While there is some truth in that it does paint a "tough God" picture. We hope God will "set things straight", rather than "set the captives free". We would like to see God give people what they deserve instead of remembering that mercy is not getting what we deserve. We worry so much about the over abundance of "cheap grace" that we easily forget the price that was paid for our grace. We live in testing times.
2 Corinthians 9:7
