The Joy of Gifts

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).

Let God Judge

"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.

A Spiritual Tune Up

"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 His People Listen

"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.

God is Watching

"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.

In the Flock

"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.

He Knows

"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.

Exalting Him

"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

His Favor

"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 Powerful Sea

"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.