December 6, 2020
IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US One of the 15 psalms of ascent, written to prepare the hearts of worshipers as they climbed up to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Entourages of pilgrims like the one that traveled from Nazareth with young, 12-year-old Jesus, would have sung these songs as they came to celebrate Passover.
November 28, 2020
WHEN IS IT TIME FOR GOD TO ACT? The psalmist saw the people of the world becoming more and more rebellious, ignoring the law of God. He called on the Lord to take action. This call was made especially acute by the fact that Psalm 119 was written as an ode to God’s Word. Usually
November 24, 2020
DO YOU SEEK THE BLESSING OR THE BESTOWER? The psalmist declared that the Lord Himself was his portion, his reward. He sought not the Lord’s hands, but His face. While others seek blessings, he sought the Bestower of blessing. Remember the parable Jesus told of the prodigal son? He said to his father, “Give
November 23, 2020
A PRAYER FOR GOD’S PERSPECTIVE The psalmist asked the Lord to help him turn his eyes from “worthless things,” so that he 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 them,
November 10, 2020
DO YOU HAVE A HEART FOR GOD? David declared the steadfastness of his heart toward God. In other words, David had set and established his heart on God. He had fixed his focus on God alone. Having made God the object of his heart’s desire and confidence, he declared his intent to sing and give
November 9, 2020
IF YOU KNOW SO, SAY SO! The psalmist David encouraged the redeemed to “say so!” If we have been redeemed (bought back, ransomed, delivered from the penalty of sin) by the Lord, the Word encourages us to “say so!” We can never repay the One who gave His life as a ransom for us, but
November 8, 2020 | Psalm 96:1-9
We are called to make disciples of Jesus. What should those disciples look like? The first and most important thing is they should have a growing Heart for God.
In Psalm 96, David taught the Israelites how to worship with a true heart for God. We can worship with a true heart for God.
November 7, 2020
DO YOU HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE OR GRUMBLING? It wasn’t external enemies that kept the Israelites out of the Promised Land. It was their internal grumbling among themselves. They complained against the food and against their leaders, but really they complained against God. So He allowed the grumblers to die in the wilderness, while
October 31, 2020
THE SIZE OF GOD’S MERCY David attempted to describe the size of God’s mercy by comparing it to the heavens and earth. He imagined the height of God’s mercy as rising as high as the heavens, and the breadth of His mercy being as wide as the “east is from the west.” Yet, in
October 20, 2020
WHO CAN APPROACH THE THRONE OF GOD? The throne of a human king or judge is elevated by wood or stone and often ornamented by images and symbols to suggest their authority and judgment. But the foundation of the Lord’s throne is “righteousness and justice.” His throne is elevated by His character, which is pure