August 16, 2016
The Holy Spirit inspired David to write before the cross what He inspired Paul to write after it– namely, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1). Christ is our refuge.
August 16, 2016
The Holy Spirit inspired David to write before the cross what He inspired Paul to write after it– namely, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1). Christ is our refuge.
August 15, 2016
David’s psalm invites us to worship the Lord with him. This is a wonderful call to worship. Are you part of a fellowship that will answer this call with you? This is a call that you cannot answer alone. You will need brothers and sisters who love the Lord as you do. Private devotions are life-giving, but they create a longing for worshiping together with others. Isn’t this the goal of the gospel? That there would be worshipers called out from every tongue and tribe?
August 12, 2016
David described how he felt when he had unconfessed sin in his life. Keeping silent about the sin, he felt a sense of heaviness and separation from the Lord. He suffered a kind of spiritual arthritis in his bones, so that his prayers turned into groaning as he tried to bend his stiff knees before the Lord. Yet when he acknowledged his sin, the Lord forgave him. God’s steadfast love surrounded him. Why did he wait so long to confess? Why not admit the sin as soon as he felt the Spirit’s conviction? Why wait for the spiritual dryness and heaviness before crying out to the Lord?
August 8, 2016
David knew what it meant to grieve a loss. Yet, he experienced the touch of the Lord that could change his “mourning into dancing.” Not just that his grieving was abated, but that it was replaced with abounding joy. Are you grieving a loss today? Bring it to Jesus. Leave it with Him. Let Jesus turn your mourning into dancing.
August 7, 2016
The word “ascribe” means to “give credit” or “recognize.” The Lord’s name is worthy of our recognition. We are to ascribe appropriate glory to Him. This call from David’s psalm is similar to the Lord’s Prayer which teaches us to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name.” The first movement of prayer is the upward movement, we lift our eyes to the Lord, seeking His face. This moves us to consider the attributes of God. When we ascribe the glory due his name, we list His character traits and call on His many names as revealed in Scripture. When our view of God is thus enlarged, it moves us to worship and it reduces the size of our troubles in view of Him.
July 30, 2016
I wonder. Do sheep worry? Does concern for tomorrow steal their joy today? Does anxiety for food and shelter rob them of sleep? No. I think not. They trust their shepherd. He is their source and guide. They know his voice and they follow him. This is the relationship that the shepherd king David wrote of concerning he and the Lord. The Lord was “his” shepherd and he was the Lord’s lamb. The one who would humble themselves like a lamb and entrust themselves to God as shepherd, shall not be in want. For the Lord will meet all their needs. Are you in want today? Look to the Shepherd.
July 17, 2016 | Psalm 127 |
Don’t you wish kids came with an owners manual? Many times, we try to parent in our own strength and not rely on the Lord for our wisdom and strength. In Psalm 127, Solomon wrote about the necessity of recognizing the Lord as the One builds families and watches over them, so that we receive our children and how to parent them from the Lord.
July 11, 2016
To Hebrew thinking, to know someone’s name was to know truly them. Those who know the Lord, know His character, know His power, and His promises. Those who know God have been brought into relationship with Him through Jesus, His Son. Knowing the Lord, they put their complete trust in Him. Knowing the Lord’s Name, they seek Him and are not “forsaken” (“abandoned, rejected, deserted, or left behind”). Growing in knowledge of the Lord, we grow in trust. The more we know Him, the more we trust and love Him. And the more we seek to know Him more.
July 7, 2016
David’s crying and groaning were directed to the Lord in prayer. His distress was expressed as an appeal to God. He did not complain to others, nor cry out to man, but to the One who could really help. He knew how to “encourage himself in the Lord” (1 Sam.30:6). Many wallow in their worries and seek solace in expressing their anxiety to others, but David turned his concerns into prayerful confession. Instead of anxious self-talk, he prayed to God.
Are you able to do this?
July 4, 2016
This is a Messianic prophecy of Christ’s triumphal kingdom. It is a sober reminder, as we celebrate America’s Independence Day, that all the world’s nations exist at the Lord’s pleasure. Do our nation’s leaders and judges “serve the Lord with fear?” Do they bow and “kiss” the Son’s hand in obeisance? Or have they become wise in their own eyes, calling evil, good and good, evil? Let us recognize our dual citizenship. As Americans, we are thankful for God’s blessing on America. We continue to pray for our leaders and judges that they will return to God. But as Christians, we are citizens of an eternal kingdom, one that was inaugurated at the cross and will be consummated at Christ’s return. We ultimately put our trust in Christ alone. He is the source of all blessing. Yet, in the meantime we pray, “God bless America.”