Peace: Before I Was Born, God Knew Me

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.

Rich People

"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.

Seek Restoration

"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.

Shall we dance?

"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.

The sun and the Son

"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.

O.K. Tough Guy

"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.

Face This

"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.

Feast of Thanksgiving

"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.

The Church

"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.

Word by Word

"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.

Getting the past in Perspective

"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.

Victory in Jesus

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Alan:

"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.

Guided By The Light

"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.

This God

"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.

This God who lets nations exist.

This God who is beautiful beyond description.

This God who made the heavens and the earth.

This God who breathes life into every human being.

This God who keeps this big ball spinning day after day after day.

This God who cares about you.

This God who knows you.

This God who has a plan for your life.

This God who sent His Son to die for the sins of the world.

This God who commands us to be still.

This God who is whose love is unfailing.

This God who has shown Himself to be our fortress.

This God who is astounding.

This God who we have seen and heard.

This God who judges righteously.

Sing Praises

"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.

The Panting Soul

"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.

Amen and Amen

"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.