February 6, 2013
David learned that there are seasons to grief and gladness. The Lord is not absent in one and present in the other. He is present in both. And often, we are most aware of God during a time of despair. Have you learned to practice the Presence of God, regardless of the circumstances? Do not despair. The darkness will soon depart. Open the curtain and let the joy of Jesus shine in.
February 3, 2013
Have you yet cried aloud to the Lord as David did? The Psalms teach us to seek the Lord regardless of our state. Every emotional status from joy to despair is represented in the Psalms. David, the man after God’s own heart, teaches us to seek God with all of our hearts. Perhaps David was experiencing a “dark night of the soul” as St. John of the Cross once wrote. God often allows a growing believer to experience a season of spiritual dryness to teach them to thirst after Him. David knew what to do when he was spiritually thirsty. Do you?
January 29, 2013
This Davidic psalm begins with an announcement of God’s ownership of everything and everyone. Believing that God is owner and that we are stewards, servants of God caring for His creation is a life-changing principle. Many Christians claim to believe this, yet they behave as if their stuff is really “their” stuff. One of the great sins of American Christianity is the idolatry of materialism. Our happiness is attached to our possessions. This is the sin of greed. What is the antidote? Giving. Live a life of the open hand, tithing from your first fruits and giving sacrificially to any need that the Spirit shows you. In this way, you acknowledge God’s ownership and your stewardship.
January 28, 2013
From David’s famous shepherd psalm. Those that follow the Lord are led on right paths by Him. God does this for the sake of His own Name. God’s purpose is to make us righteous like His Son, who declared “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11). In this leading, God cares more for our character than our comfort. He is not working in us for our pleasure, for our name, but for His Name. Therefore, we do not fear when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, because the Good Shepherd is with us, and His purpose is sure. God is making us like His Son (1 John 3:2).
January 26, 2013
This Davidic psalm begins with the question that Jesus cried out at the end. David surely wrote this psalm with his own feeling, yet I wonder how much awareness he had that he was describing the Messiah’s death. Did the Spirit awaken him at night to feel the agony of crucifixion: “I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint, they have pierced my hands and feet and cast lots for my clothing?” Written centuries before the Romans invented the cruel practice, the Spirit revealed crucifixion to David. Psalm 22 is filled with prophetic details that are only fulfilled in the Son of David, Jesus the Christ.
January 19, 2013
David’s psalm is a prayer asking God to keep His eyes on him at all times and to protect him from harm. The phase “apple of my eye” is found in several other places in Scripture, is used by Shakespeare, and many a grandparent might use it today in speaking of a grandchild. The metaphor seems to refer to the small reflection an image makes on the round (like an apple) pupil of the human eye. David boldly asks God to favor him like a little child saying, “Look at me Daddy!” And more, “Don’t take your eyes off of me. Make me the center of your attention.” Such a request reveals David’s intimate prayer life. Can we pray like David?
January 8, 2013
David addresses this psalm to both the Transcendent Ruler of all the earth, as well as the Immanent Lover of his soul. “O LORD (יְהוָ֤ה Yahweh) meaning “I AM,” a name so holy that the scribes washed their hands before writing it. And “our Lord” (אֲדֹנֵ֗ינוּ Adonenu, from Adonai), the title the Hebrews used to call upon the One who had made them His chosen ones. Jesus follows this prayer formula in His model prayer, yet reverses the order, revealing an even more personal name (“Our Father” personal/close) in the first place and retaining the idea of transcendence (“which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name”) in the second. We learn much about God from both of these prayers, but Jesus alone gives us the right to pray to Him as “our Father.”
December 26, 2012
David observed God’s common grace, how He was good and loving to everyone. Rain showers fall on us and our neighbors alike. Yet not everyone acknowledges their Source. For those who do, God gives special grace, showering us with blessings through Jesus, His Son.
December 24, 2012
God’s Love came down at Christmas. This gift of God’s agape love has your name on it. But it isn’t yours until you open it. Praying this prayer from Psalms is a good way to get the wrapping off. Giving yourself to Him, Christ gives Himself to you. Have you opened God’s Christmas gift?
December 22, 2012
David’s prayer is appropriate for all, but especially for those who presume to teach and preach. I pray this always, and even more fervently before stepping in front of God’s people on Sunday mornings.