January 2, 2023
“Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one” (Psalms 2:1-2 NLT). The Spirit inspired David to write these verses describing the futility of the world’s kingdoms conspiring against
December 28, 2022
GOD CALLS US BY NAME I’m on my annual study retreat, so I’ve been taking more time to star gaze in the evenings and consider God’s greatness. Since the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have observed that there are an almost infinite number of stars in the universe. In our own Milky Way
December 26, 2022
MEDITATING ON THE MAJESTY David was determined to “meditate” on the Lord’s “majestic glorious splendor” and on His “wonderful miracles.” The miracles seem obvious enough to consider. Whatever is beyond natural explanation, whatever seems to be an interruption or suspension of natural law, so that God is the only explanation, these are miracles, are they
December 24, 2022
ADVENT MEANS COMING O how the psalmist David cried out to the Lord! He held nothing back in his prayers. Like a child insistently crying for his mother’s attention, David made his complaint known to the Lord. He would not be content until the Lord answered. Have you seen a child in such a state?
December 15, 2022
BRING YOUR WORSHIP WITH YOU! Psalm 134 is the last of the 15 “Psalms of Ascent,” which were written to be sung by pilgrims as they climbed up Mount Zion to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. Singing these worship songs made the journey more joyful and encouraged them to begin worshiping before they arrived.
December 11, 2022
DOES GOD’S FORGIVENESS TEACH US TO FEAR HIM? The psalmist asked a rhetorical question of the Lord, that begs an answer from each of us. If the Lord kept record of all our sins, our impure thoughts, motives and actions, if He decided to judge us according to that record, who could stand? The answer?
December 7, 2022
ON SOWING AND STARTING OVER AGAIN Psalm 126 described the mixture of tears and joy that the Jewish exiles experienced upon their return to Jerusalem. They were happy to return, but they had lost everything. Yet, they had seed and they once again had fields and they had the physical strength and knowledge to plant.
November 24, 2022
RISING UP TO GIVE THANKS Psalm 119 was written as a tribute to God’s Word. Written as an acrostic poem based on the Hebrew alphabet, the psalmist described the many ways he was thankful for God’s righteous law. His thoughts concerning God’s revealed Word were so wonderful that he arose at a time when most
November 23, 2022
A PRAYER FOR GOD’S PERSPECTIVE The psalmist asked the Lord to help him turn his eyes from “worthless things,” so that his life might be revived by following God’s perspective. He recognized his temptation to focus on things that do not last and to spend his life pursuing them. And in the process of pursuing
November 19, 2022
HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD? The psalmist’s view of God was greater than his fear of man, therefore he did not fear. Why should the child of God fear anything? What is so great or terrible that it should trouble the believer’s heart with anxiety? The apostle Paul seems to be thinking of this verse