June 28, 2020
POLITICS CAN’T CHANGE PEOPLE’S HEARTS Those who put their trust in political leaders and parties will always be disappointed because they are led by mere men. Only the One who can change the human heart can change the human condition. This proverb, along with today’s Old Testament reading from 2 Kings, both proclaim and illustrate
June 15, 2020
THE BLESSING AND BEAUTY OF UNITY Psalm 133 was written by David and is one of the fifteen psalms with the inscription, “Songs of Ascent.” These psalms (120-134) were to be sung while ascending up to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to worship. In this way, worshipers brought their praise with them to the Temple.
June 9, 2020
WHO IS BUILDING YOUR HOUSE? This psalm of Solomon is apt for today’s One Year Bible reading as the Old Testament reading is about the building of the Temple. Yet although God had given Solomon such amazing wisdom, he failed to apply it to his own house. Isn’t this often the case? We know more
June 1, 2020
WHOSE TESTIMONY WILL YOU BELIEVE? Some say that David wrote Psalm 119 to teach his son, Solomon, to love God’s Word, while at the same time, teaching him the Hebrew alphabet. For this beautiful ode to God’s Word is an acrostic poem, with each stanza beginning with one of the twenty-two Hebrew letters. Yet
May 23, 2020
HAVE YOU DETERMINED WHERE TO FIND YOUR DELIGHT? Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem based on the Hebrew alphabet. It is a meditation on the majesty and wonder of God’s Word. Consider the psalmist’s declaration of determination saying, “I will.” He decided in advance to find his delight in God’s statutes. As an act of
May 13, 2020
LET THE LORD BE YOUR DEFENDER David asked the Lord to rescue him from his accusers. Rather than trying to defend himself, he asked the Lord to defend him. Even more, he asked that the Lord would save him in such a way that his accusers would know that it was God who had done
May 11, 2020
THERE IS A REAL SOUL FOOD The psalmist declared that thanksgiving is due to the Lord for His wonderful goodness and mercy. For God is the only one who can truly satisfy the longing of the human soul. There is a thirst and a hunger that the body knows. God created this in man
May 5, 2020
THE WITNESSING POWER OF WORSHIP This is a call to worship. Not only that, it is a call to witness. We might even say that it is a call to the kind of worship that is in itself a witness to the peoples outside the faith. The psalmist called the people of Israel to
May 1, 2020
A PRAYER FOR THE AFFLICTED WHEN OVERWHELMED The inscription above this psalm describes it as a “prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed.” Certainly, there is a need for concrete language to truly capture the condition of the afflicted. The hurting are in need of words of expression that they might lift up to
April 26, 2020 | Psalm 42:11 |
How many of you are struggling with depression today? How many of you have had more trouble with depression because of the pandemic? Depression causes symptoms that affect how we feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, and working. The Bible is filled with those who struggled at times with the symptoms of depression, such as: Job, Moses, Naomi, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Mary, Peter, and Paul.
Yet, no matter its cause or its degree, those who suffer from depression, need mercy not judgment. And perhaps more than anything, they need hope! In Psalms 42, the psalmist described how he put his hope in God when his soul was overwhelmed by depression. We can put our hope in God when we are overwhelmed by depression.