June 1, 2010
Sing for Joy
Read Psalms 135 - 139
Ps 137:4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?
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Ps 139:5 You hem me in — behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
PSALM 137 was written and sung when Israel was in captivity in Babylon. The writer mourns the people’s separation from their home and from their temple. Babylon threatens their family structure, their culture and their worship. How can there be any joy? How can they sing the songs of the LORD and to the LORD when they are in a foreign land?
The answer is in Psalm 139:5. Centuries earlier in Israel’s history , the Psalmist—David—wrote and sang of God’s great protection. God is before him and behind him. God’s hand is on him, and he feels secure in God’s care even though he is often challenged and threatened by his enemies.
It’s easy, isn’t it, to feel separated from God? We live in a culture that actually encourages us to “leave God” and go into a “foreign land” of our own strength and wisdom—which really is weak and unwise away from God.
We search for peace and joy. We find none. Living in a “foreign land” separates us from God’s ways, and we lose our way. Then we wonder, “How can we sing the songs of the LORD?” because we feel so far from our home with God.
Know this: God is near. He is ready to surround you with his love. When you turn from the “foreign land” that denies him and decide to turn to Him, His firm, strong and gentle hand is ready to welcome you back home into his presence. Trust in God and go to the life he has for you.
Pause and Consider: how good it is to be at peace with a good friend. Being with God is even better!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
May 31, 2011 A Praise Parade
A Praise Parade
Read Psalms 129 - 134
Ps 134 1 A song of ascents. Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. 3 May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
IMAGINE something really crazy. The picture is this: You get up early on Sunday morning. You dress for church. The kids are up and everyone is ready to leave about 2 hours before church starts. And you leave for church because you need all that time to get there. Why?
You are going to walk to church. As you and your family walk each step to church, people come from their homes along the way. Block by block the throng of people increases, and songs spontaneously arise from the crowd.
You all sing because you are excited and joyful! You praise God with your music. The songs’ words remind you and tell bystanders along the way of God’s care and love for you and your church. The songs tell of his amazing love that rescues people and makes them new. Your songs celebrate a victorious past and anticipate a joyful future.
These psalms in today’s readings are called Psalms of Ascents or the Pilgrim Psalms. They are songs the Hebrews sang as they journeyed together on annual pilgrimages to the great Feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.
They are also songs the Hebrews sang as they returned from the 70-year exile in Babylon. They are songs of victory, peace and joy, songs to celebrate God’s great mercy and love over them. Imagine the comfort and joy you would experience each Sunday if your church would join in such an attitude of celebration, praise and trust for God.
Pause and Consider: what joy this would bring to God.
Read Psalms 129 - 134
Ps 134 1 A song of ascents. Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. 3 May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
IMAGINE something really crazy. The picture is this: You get up early on Sunday morning. You dress for church. The kids are up and everyone is ready to leave about 2 hours before church starts. And you leave for church because you need all that time to get there. Why?
You are going to walk to church. As you and your family walk each step to church, people come from their homes along the way. Block by block the throng of people increases, and songs spontaneously arise from the crowd.
You all sing because you are excited and joyful! You praise God with your music. The songs’ words remind you and tell bystanders along the way of God’s care and love for you and your church. The songs tell of his amazing love that rescues people and makes them new. Your songs celebrate a victorious past and anticipate a joyful future.
These psalms in today’s readings are called Psalms of Ascents or the Pilgrim Psalms. They are songs the Hebrews sang as they journeyed together on annual pilgrimages to the great Feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.
They are also songs the Hebrews sang as they returned from the 70-year exile in Babylon. They are songs of victory, peace and joy, songs to celebrate God’s great mercy and love over them. Imagine the comfort and joy you would experience each Sunday if your church would join in such an attitude of celebration, praise and trust for God.
Pause and Consider: what joy this would bring to God.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
May 30, 2011 Blessing of Children
John 15:13
love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
The Blessing of Children
Read Psalms 127-128
Ps 127:3 Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a real blessing.
HOW ARE the kids? Maybe this moment isn’t a good time to ask. Or maybe it’s early morning, a quiet, contemplative time for you, and you’re preparing for the kids to come downstairs to snuggle for a while before everyone’s day begins.
What would life be like in your household if your primary thought each day is this scripture? How would you respond to them if this verse is running through your brain when they strain you with whining, disobeying or indifference?
Would you be a little more patient? Would you surprise them with a random act of kindness (That’s not just for strangers, you know.) Would you tell them you love them more often? Would you turn off the TV and listen to their needs?
Perhaps you would. Seeing your children as God’s blessing is a powerful gift. It takes practice when they’re disobeying. But it begins with you. Remember that your Father sees you as one he wants to bless. Fill yourself with him, and you will more easily see your children as a blessing. And they will more likely become a rich, lifetime of blessing to you.
Pause and Consider: what your children would say about you.
love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
The Blessing of Children
Read Psalms 127-128
Ps 127:3 Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a real blessing.
HOW ARE the kids? Maybe this moment isn’t a good time to ask. Or maybe it’s early morning, a quiet, contemplative time for you, and you’re preparing for the kids to come downstairs to snuggle for a while before everyone’s day begins.
What would life be like in your household if your primary thought each day is this scripture? How would you respond to them if this verse is running through your brain when they strain you with whining, disobeying or indifference?
Would you be a little more patient? Would you surprise them with a random act of kindness (That’s not just for strangers, you know.) Would you tell them you love them more often? Would you turn off the TV and listen to their needs?
Perhaps you would. Seeing your children as God’s blessing is a powerful gift. It takes practice when they’re disobeying. But it begins with you. Remember that your Father sees you as one he wants to bless. Fill yourself with him, and you will more easily see your children as a blessing. And they will more likely become a rich, lifetime of blessing to you.
Pause and Consider: what your children would say about you.
May 29, 2011 A Rich Life
A Rich Life
Read Psalms 125-126
Psalms 126:4-6 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
“RESTORE OUR FORTUNES.”. Some people get uncomfortable about praying for a good life, for “fortune” or prosperity. Some of that discomfort comes from some preaching and teaching seemingly common in “popular” churches. The “teaching” says that when you become a Christian, God will make you rich and give you all you materially want.
That’s not so. The Gospel is about guaranteeing the riches of heaven in eternal life.
“Restoring fortunes” here, though, is a prayer for God to bring his people back from exile to bless them with his presence and his good land. The psalmist is praying for the people of God to receive the fortunes of God’s blessing as it once was.
When God brought his people out of Egypt and introduced himself to them, he promised that if they followed his ways he would bless them with good crops and safe homes. God wanted to provide for their needs. He didn’t want them wanting. After all he gave them the “Promised Land”, a fertile land he had prepared for them.
When you trust God’s laws and his love for you, you will become rich in him. Oh, you may not become rich in money, but you will be rich in your family’s love and at peace in your household. You will have a great relationship with your Jehovah (God the Provider). And his fortunes will be in your heart.
What else do you need?
Pause and Consider: what it means to be rich in your Lord Jesus. Do you want others to know about that rich life?
Read Psalms 125-126
Psalms 126:4-6 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
“RESTORE OUR FORTUNES.”. Some people get uncomfortable about praying for a good life, for “fortune” or prosperity. Some of that discomfort comes from some preaching and teaching seemingly common in “popular” churches. The “teaching” says that when you become a Christian, God will make you rich and give you all you materially want.
That’s not so. The Gospel is about guaranteeing the riches of heaven in eternal life.
“Restoring fortunes” here, though, is a prayer for God to bring his people back from exile to bless them with his presence and his good land. The psalmist is praying for the people of God to receive the fortunes of God’s blessing as it once was.
When God brought his people out of Egypt and introduced himself to them, he promised that if they followed his ways he would bless them with good crops and safe homes. God wanted to provide for their needs. He didn’t want them wanting. After all he gave them the “Promised Land”, a fertile land he had prepared for them.
When you trust God’s laws and his love for you, you will become rich in him. Oh, you may not become rich in money, but you will be rich in your family’s love and at peace in your household. You will have a great relationship with your Jehovah (God the Provider). And his fortunes will be in your heart.
What else do you need?
Pause and Consider: what it means to be rich in your Lord Jesus. Do you want others to know about that rich life?
Friday, May 27, 2011
May 28, 2011 Peace Be Wtthin You
Peace Be Within You
Read Psalms 122-124
Ps 122:8 For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”
HOW’S YOUR church? Is there peace within its walls? Is there peace within its people? That is God’s desire. How does this kind of peace develop within hearts and within the church?
Peace comes when we focus on the One who has built the church and brought his people into the church. In Jerusalem’s history, God brought his people within its walls to protect them from physical harm and to be in community to worship him. God’s hand created the city, and God’s grace filled their hearts to worship him. When Jerusalem’s leaders such as David would seek God and pray for his presence there, the city was at peace.
When other leaders came to rule Judah, and they disobeyed God, the city was often at war with other nations.. Individual hearts sought their own desires. There was no peace within the walls and within the hearts.
In your church, are you and other leaders (yes, everyone is a leader of faith in some way) seeking God. Do you credit him for creating your church? Do you praise him for filling your hearts?
When you purposefully seek God’s will, respond in faith to his will and praise him in your church, you will find his peace. Yes, challenges and heartache will occur. But underlying any turmoil will be God’s peace within you.
God shows that time and time again in the Bible. He has shown to his faithful followers through the centuries. And God’s peace is for you. Pray that the Spirit will give you peace within you today.
Pause and Consider: how good it is to be at peace.
Read Psalms 122-124
Ps 122:8 For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”
HOW’S YOUR church? Is there peace within its walls? Is there peace within its people? That is God’s desire. How does this kind of peace develop within hearts and within the church?
Peace comes when we focus on the One who has built the church and brought his people into the church. In Jerusalem’s history, God brought his people within its walls to protect them from physical harm and to be in community to worship him. God’s hand created the city, and God’s grace filled their hearts to worship him. When Jerusalem’s leaders such as David would seek God and pray for his presence there, the city was at peace.
When other leaders came to rule Judah, and they disobeyed God, the city was often at war with other nations.. Individual hearts sought their own desires. There was no peace within the walls and within the hearts.
In your church, are you and other leaders (yes, everyone is a leader of faith in some way) seeking God. Do you credit him for creating your church? Do you praise him for filling your hearts?
When you purposefully seek God’s will, respond in faith to his will and praise him in your church, you will find his peace. Yes, challenges and heartache will occur. But underlying any turmoil will be God’s peace within you.
God shows that time and time again in the Bible. He has shown to his faithful followers through the centuries. And God’s peace is for you. Pray that the Spirit will give you peace within you today.
Pause and Consider: how good it is to be at peace.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
may 27, 2011 Out of Harm's Way
Out of Harm’s Way
Read Psalms 120 – 121
Ps 121:7-8 The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
CAN YOU trust this scripture? “The LORD will keep you from all harm”. I do trust it, and I know you can, too. Here’s why. Several years ago a woman walked into my office. She was a wreck physically, spiritually and emotionally. She was a sub-compact smashed by an 18-wheeler. But what happened was no accident.
She had crashed because of choices she had made. Most of it was too much booze, too many useless men and too many excuses. I talked with her periodically, attempted to have her seek God’s Word to change her life, but she didn’t really get it until that one special day.
On that day she walked into my office, and I knew she had changed. She had read something in Scripture. For the first time, God’s Word breathed into her, and she understood it was for her. She knew he loved her and valued her. She really, really knew for the first time that her Creator wanted to protect her from harm.
Step-by-step she cautiously checked out God. When she walked with him, life was good. When she let go of his hand, life was hard. More and more, she clung to his hand. More and more her life became safe from the physical, emotional and relational harm she had encountered. More and more, she was able to feel his soothing touch amid terrible grief.
Yes, you can trust that walking with God will keep you from harm. His way will guide your life to a safe place. You will experience more peace. You will be content in your heart as the world swirls around you. I’ve seen it in myself. I saw it in my friend. I’ve seen it in many others.
Pause and Consider: how God keeps you and your loved ones from harm.
Read Psalms 120 – 121
Ps 121:7-8 The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
CAN YOU trust this scripture? “The LORD will keep you from all harm”. I do trust it, and I know you can, too. Here’s why. Several years ago a woman walked into my office. She was a wreck physically, spiritually and emotionally. She was a sub-compact smashed by an 18-wheeler. But what happened was no accident.
She had crashed because of choices she had made. Most of it was too much booze, too many useless men and too many excuses. I talked with her periodically, attempted to have her seek God’s Word to change her life, but she didn’t really get it until that one special day.
On that day she walked into my office, and I knew she had changed. She had read something in Scripture. For the first time, God’s Word breathed into her, and she understood it was for her. She knew he loved her and valued her. She really, really knew for the first time that her Creator wanted to protect her from harm.
Step-by-step she cautiously checked out God. When she walked with him, life was good. When she let go of his hand, life was hard. More and more, she clung to his hand. More and more her life became safe from the physical, emotional and relational harm she had encountered. More and more, she was able to feel his soothing touch amid terrible grief.
Yes, you can trust that walking with God will keep you from harm. His way will guide your life to a safe place. You will experience more peace. You will be content in your heart as the world swirls around you. I’ve seen it in myself. I saw it in my friend. I’ve seen it in many others.
Pause and Consider: how God keeps you and your loved ones from harm.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
may 26, 2011 Sorrow is Too Much
Sorrow is Too Much
Read Psalms 119
Ps 119:28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.
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Ps 119:32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
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Ps 119:97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
SORROW comes to us in many forms. A death in the family, relationships ending, job loss, and health loss are a few.
What do we do when sorrow strikes? I’ve seen many people just give up. The loss breaks them down. The weight of grief destroys their energy and sucks up their hope. Sorrow steals their passion and energy. Sorrow clouds their mind and traps them in fear to try again, to live life.
What can we do?
I’ve seen others deal with sorrow with the victory of God’s commands. They know the reality of the psalmist’s prayers: “strengthen me according to your Word” because God’s commands are given to us to “set my heart free”. They read God’s word and see how much he loves them. They rejoice in the hope of the Gospel, and they live in the footsteps of the One who conquered sorrow on the cross.
Are you in sorrow today? Is the loss to heavy to bear? Of course it is. But please know, God has indeed carried it for you. Meditate on God’s word, and find comfort in God’s sorrow over your loss. Go with him, and step-by-step you will feel God take the weight from you.
Pause and Consider: a way you can comfort someone in sorrow.
Read Psalms 119
Ps 119:28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.
&
Ps 119:32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
&
Ps 119:97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
SORROW comes to us in many forms. A death in the family, relationships ending, job loss, and health loss are a few.
What do we do when sorrow strikes? I’ve seen many people just give up. The loss breaks them down. The weight of grief destroys their energy and sucks up their hope. Sorrow steals their passion and energy. Sorrow clouds their mind and traps them in fear to try again, to live life.
What can we do?
I’ve seen others deal with sorrow with the victory of God’s commands. They know the reality of the psalmist’s prayers: “strengthen me according to your Word” because God’s commands are given to us to “set my heart free”. They read God’s word and see how much he loves them. They rejoice in the hope of the Gospel, and they live in the footsteps of the One who conquered sorrow on the cross.
Are you in sorrow today? Is the loss to heavy to bear? Of course it is. But please know, God has indeed carried it for you. Meditate on God’s word, and find comfort in God’s sorrow over your loss. Go with him, and step-by-step you will feel God take the weight from you.
Pause and Consider: a way you can comfort someone in sorrow.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
May 25, 2011 His Love
His Love
Read Psalms 115-118
Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2 Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.”
HIS LOVE, his love, his love, his love pours over you. His love does not stop when you feel alone. His love keeps coming when you are discouraged. His love spreads over your heart when it is empty.
His love: You see it in the hand of someone who helps an elderly person walk down the street. His love: You hear it in the voice of one who says, “How can I pray for you?” His love: You touch it when a loved one comes and sits beside you just to be beside you.
His love: You know it when someone corrects you from a wrong thing you do that harms you. His love: You find it in the first light of dawn on a warm spring day—winter is gone, new growth comes. His love: You know its power when a child comes and raises her arms to be picked up into your yours.
His love is a going-to-the-cross, I’ll die for you, I’ll come and save you kind of love. Weep, my friends, in joy that the Father loves you so deeply and eternally. Let your tears wash over you and embrace the happiness you feel. Let your gratitude for his love warm your soul and ease your mind.
His love: It’s free. For you. Just ask. “And (You will not die but live, and (you) will proclaim what the LORD has done. (Ps 118:17)
Pause and Consider: ways to feel his love in you.
Read Psalms 115-118
Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2 Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.”
HIS LOVE, his love, his love, his love pours over you. His love does not stop when you feel alone. His love keeps coming when you are discouraged. His love spreads over your heart when it is empty.
His love: You see it in the hand of someone who helps an elderly person walk down the street. His love: You hear it in the voice of one who says, “How can I pray for you?” His love: You touch it when a loved one comes and sits beside you just to be beside you.
His love: You know it when someone corrects you from a wrong thing you do that harms you. His love: You find it in the first light of dawn on a warm spring day—winter is gone, new growth comes. His love: You know its power when a child comes and raises her arms to be picked up into your yours.
His love is a going-to-the-cross, I’ll die for you, I’ll come and save you kind of love. Weep, my friends, in joy that the Father loves you so deeply and eternally. Let your tears wash over you and embrace the happiness you feel. Let your gratitude for his love warm your soul and ease your mind.
His love: It’s free. For you. Just ask. “And (You will not die but live, and (you) will proclaim what the LORD has done. (Ps 118:17)
Pause and Consider: ways to feel his love in you.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
May 23, 2011 A Faithful Father
A Faithful Father
Read Psalms 108-109
Ps 108:3-4 I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
FAITHFULNESS. What is that? My wife is faithful to me. I see it in many ways. She is faithful to tell me each day that she loves me. She is faithful to drive me where I need to go (My vision isn’t good enough to drive.) She is faithful to encourage my writing, teaching and preaching. She prays for me. She lies down at night with me. She loves our children and grandchildren. She loves my mother. And she tells me when I need to do better.
Faithfulness is a love that enriches another and brings a comfort to one’s heart. I can trust my wife because she is faithful to me.
God is faithful. His Word shows the extremes of his faithfulness to encourage us with the words for the Psalms and Proverbs. We see how he prods ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We see how he stays with his people for generations, loving them even when they do evil. We see his Law to teach good living with Him and with each other. We see his love through his Son, the cross, and the empty Tomb. We see his power today in the Holy Spirit.
The stories of his faithfulness can fill a book. Oh, wait. They do.
Pause and Consider: you can read his faithful story to you every day—even on your “smart phone”.
Read Psalms 108-109
Ps 108:3-4 I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
FAITHFULNESS. What is that? My wife is faithful to me. I see it in many ways. She is faithful to tell me each day that she loves me. She is faithful to drive me where I need to go (My vision isn’t good enough to drive.) She is faithful to encourage my writing, teaching and preaching. She prays for me. She lies down at night with me. She loves our children and grandchildren. She loves my mother. And she tells me when I need to do better.
Faithfulness is a love that enriches another and brings a comfort to one’s heart. I can trust my wife because she is faithful to me.
God is faithful. His Word shows the extremes of his faithfulness to encourage us with the words for the Psalms and Proverbs. We see how he prods ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We see how he stays with his people for generations, loving them even when they do evil. We see his Law to teach good living with Him and with each other. We see his love through his Son, the cross, and the empty Tomb. We see his power today in the Holy Spirit.
The stories of his faithfulness can fill a book. Oh, wait. They do.
Pause and Consider: you can read his faithful story to you every day—even on your “smart phone”.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
May 22, 2011 The Word of Life
The Word of Life
Psalms 106 – 107
Psalms 107:10-13, 20 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. 12 So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. 13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress…20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
THE PSALMIST paints a dark picture. God’s people are chained down in a dark cell, bent over by the labor of their sin. The only sound is the cry of despair. They have no hope for release.
What is their crime? They have deliberately sinned. And they have passively sinned, failing in all ways to seek God’s Word for their lives and their nation. They have rebelled and exchanged God’s words of freedom for the Satan’s enslaving lies.
Those lies locked them down. Their heart, soul and mind are bound in despair. Freedom is an empty hope.
But then, miraculously one day, God’s sent forth his Word to a people in darkness.:
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness
The Word tells of God’s great love and compassion. The Word fills their souls with hope. Shackles loosen. Prisoners are free from darkness. Life returns.
Pause and Consider: how light breaks into the darkness. Darkness never breaks into the light.
Psalms 106 – 107
Psalms 107:10-13, 20 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. 12 So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. 13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress…20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
THE PSALMIST paints a dark picture. God’s people are chained down in a dark cell, bent over by the labor of their sin. The only sound is the cry of despair. They have no hope for release.
What is their crime? They have deliberately sinned. And they have passively sinned, failing in all ways to seek God’s Word for their lives and their nation. They have rebelled and exchanged God’s words of freedom for the Satan’s enslaving lies.
Those lies locked them down. Their heart, soul and mind are bound in despair. Freedom is an empty hope.
But then, miraculously one day, God’s sent forth his Word to a people in darkness.:
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness
The Word tells of God’s great love and compassion. The Word fills their souls with hope. Shackles loosen. Prisoners are free from darkness. Life returns.
Pause and Consider: how light breaks into the darkness. Darkness never breaks into the light.
Friday, May 20, 2011
May 21, 2011 Credit God
Credit God
Read Psalms 104-105
Psalm 104:2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
THE PHRASE “Mother Nature” is a hateful thing to the Lord.
I know, that’s a strong to statement to make about a phrase constantly used in our culture, but it’s true. In Exodus 20:3, God commands, “You shall have no other gods before me.” “Mother Nature” is a phrase that says, “Nature is in control of itself. It is its own force and does what it does at its own whim.” The phrase makes God’s creation a god over him.
Psalm 104 is essentially about God’s sovereignty over nature. “He wraps himself in light.” Tells us that God opens the reality of his being for all to see. Look in the heavens, look on the land, look in the seas, and you will see God.
The stars, the rain, the clouds, the lion, the leviathan (great big animal – maybe a whale) act on God’s command.
This is true. The Bible tells us right here and in many other places. Why is it so difficult in our culture to credit God for nature’s actions?
Sadly, this is another way we deny God’s control over all affairs. When we do this, we are essentially saying to God, “You’re not there. You don’t matter.”
With that attitude, we keep God on the sidelines. We even keep him out of our homes and out of our thoughts.
Mother Nature? No way. Sovereign God? Yes. He wraps himself in light to brilliantly display his wonders to you.
Pause and Consider: that his wonders are for you.
Read Psalms 104-105
Psalm 104:2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
THE PHRASE “Mother Nature” is a hateful thing to the Lord.
I know, that’s a strong to statement to make about a phrase constantly used in our culture, but it’s true. In Exodus 20:3, God commands, “You shall have no other gods before me.” “Mother Nature” is a phrase that says, “Nature is in control of itself. It is its own force and does what it does at its own whim.” The phrase makes God’s creation a god over him.
Psalm 104 is essentially about God’s sovereignty over nature. “He wraps himself in light.” Tells us that God opens the reality of his being for all to see. Look in the heavens, look on the land, look in the seas, and you will see God.
The stars, the rain, the clouds, the lion, the leviathan (great big animal – maybe a whale) act on God’s command.
This is true. The Bible tells us right here and in many other places. Why is it so difficult in our culture to credit God for nature’s actions?
Sadly, this is another way we deny God’s control over all affairs. When we do this, we are essentially saying to God, “You’re not there. You don’t matter.”
With that attitude, we keep God on the sidelines. We even keep him out of our homes and out of our thoughts.
Mother Nature? No way. Sovereign God? Yes. He wraps himself in light to brilliantly display his wonders to you.
Pause and Consider: that his wonders are for you.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
may 20, 2011 What A Gift!
What a Gift!
Psalms 97-103
Ps 98:1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
HOW’S YOUR singing? Oh, I know you might sing off key, or you may sound terrific. That’s really not what I’m asking. I’m asking, “How’s your singing soul?”
When you sing to the Lord, do you sing with an understanding that your words, your voice, your attitude, your attention, and your soul belong to the Lord? I know, singing is a scary thing for many people. But think about who gave you a voice. Think about why he gave you a voice.
God gave you your voice so that you are able to communicate. In communicate is “commune”. In “commune” is “come together”. In “come together” is honor. And in “honor” is worship.
Sing to the Lord to commune with him and to worship him. Sing to the Lord to give thanks that he loves you. Sing to the Lord to celebrate and welcome his Spirit. Sing to the Lord that he has come, has died, has risen and will come again to commune with you forever!
Lift your voice. Lift your heart. Lift your soul to make music to God. As it says in Psalms 103:1: Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Pause and Consider: that praise is the only way to respond to God’s grace over you forever. What a gift!
Psalms 97-103
Ps 98:1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
HOW’S YOUR singing? Oh, I know you might sing off key, or you may sound terrific. That’s really not what I’m asking. I’m asking, “How’s your singing soul?”
When you sing to the Lord, do you sing with an understanding that your words, your voice, your attitude, your attention, and your soul belong to the Lord? I know, singing is a scary thing for many people. But think about who gave you a voice. Think about why he gave you a voice.
God gave you your voice so that you are able to communicate. In communicate is “commune”. In “commune” is “come together”. In “come together” is honor. And in “honor” is worship.
Sing to the Lord to commune with him and to worship him. Sing to the Lord to give thanks that he loves you. Sing to the Lord to celebrate and welcome his Spirit. Sing to the Lord that he has come, has died, has risen and will come again to commune with you forever!
Lift your voice. Lift your heart. Lift your soul to make music to God. As it says in Psalms 103:1: Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Pause and Consider: that praise is the only way to respond to God’s grace over you forever. What a gift!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
May 19, 2011 Staying Safe
Being Safe
Read Psalms 91-96
Ps 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
SAFETY. It’s a big concern, isn’t it? You want to be safe when you leave your home and when you return. You want your finances in a safe place. Your children need safe schools. You want “safe” relationships with family and friends. Safety is a wonderful blessing, isn’t it?
But sometimes our safety disappears. A friend last week was diagnosed with a serious illness that will keep her away from work for several weeks. She’s uncertain, hopeful, afraid and feeling “unsafe” because her health suddenly tenuous.
What do we do when life’s safety nets seem to disappear? The psalmist celebrates, worships and honors God’s strength. God is the place we go, and in him we will find the “shelter of the Almighty”, the refuge, the fortress in whom we trust.
Call on God, and the power of his enormous love reaches out to protect you. His arms are over you. No enemy, no matter how strong, can touch you because God, your refuge shelters you.
In the hymn “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” it says of the cross: “O safe and happy shelter, O refuge tried and sweet”
The shadow of the cross is over your life. Trust the cross. It cost God his only Son and offers your eternal refuge. When a father has given his Son to save you to Life Eternal, you can trust him to keep you safe.
Pause and Consider: God’s safe arms around you—feels great, don’t they?
Read Psalms 91-96
Ps 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
SAFETY. It’s a big concern, isn’t it? You want to be safe when you leave your home and when you return. You want your finances in a safe place. Your children need safe schools. You want “safe” relationships with family and friends. Safety is a wonderful blessing, isn’t it?
But sometimes our safety disappears. A friend last week was diagnosed with a serious illness that will keep her away from work for several weeks. She’s uncertain, hopeful, afraid and feeling “unsafe” because her health suddenly tenuous.
What do we do when life’s safety nets seem to disappear? The psalmist celebrates, worships and honors God’s strength. God is the place we go, and in him we will find the “shelter of the Almighty”, the refuge, the fortress in whom we trust.
Call on God, and the power of his enormous love reaches out to protect you. His arms are over you. No enemy, no matter how strong, can touch you because God, your refuge shelters you.
In the hymn “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” it says of the cross: “O safe and happy shelter, O refuge tried and sweet”
The shadow of the cross is over your life. Trust the cross. It cost God his only Son and offers your eternal refuge. When a father has given his Son to save you to Life Eternal, you can trust him to keep you safe.
Pause and Consider: God’s safe arms around you—feels great, don’t they?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
May 18, 2011 Welcome Home
May 18
Welcome Home
Read Psalms 87-90
Ps 90:1 O Lord, you have always been our home.
WHAT IS home? A true home is a place where people love you, care for you and honor you. And you do the same for them. A true home is a place where you can enjoy good food and a refreshing night’s rest. Home is a place we can always go to when we are lonely and uncertain about life’s events. A good home, a Godly home is a place of joy. Home is a place you are always, always welcome.
The psalmist calls God “our home”. The evidence says this psalm was written in the time of Nehemiah, who guided the rebuilding of Jerusalem after its destruction by Babylon. God’s people had been away from their literal home for 70 years. In many ways, they were away from God, their “home”, as well.
God, in effect, had shoved them out the door because they were rebellious children. They would not listen to him, and they did many evil things against God. So as a good parent must do, he sent his disobedient children away to learn a lesson, to learn they needed His truth, and to learn they needed Him.
Now God has welcomed his children home. And Psalm 90 describes their longing for forgiveness. Their hearts are broken and weary. They are ready to come to God, their true home.
God says, “Come.” He welcomes his children home.
Are you away from God, your home? Then say to him, “I want to come home, God. I want to be with you and your other children. I want to honor you and love you. I want to be in a place of peace and joy.”
Pause and Consider: the many ways God is your home—and go to him.
Welcome Home
Read Psalms 87-90
Ps 90:1 O Lord, you have always been our home.
WHAT IS home? A true home is a place where people love you, care for you and honor you. And you do the same for them. A true home is a place where you can enjoy good food and a refreshing night’s rest. Home is a place we can always go to when we are lonely and uncertain about life’s events. A good home, a Godly home is a place of joy. Home is a place you are always, always welcome.
The psalmist calls God “our home”. The evidence says this psalm was written in the time of Nehemiah, who guided the rebuilding of Jerusalem after its destruction by Babylon. God’s people had been away from their literal home for 70 years. In many ways, they were away from God, their “home”, as well.
God, in effect, had shoved them out the door because they were rebellious children. They would not listen to him, and they did many evil things against God. So as a good parent must do, he sent his disobedient children away to learn a lesson, to learn they needed His truth, and to learn they needed Him.
Now God has welcomed his children home. And Psalm 90 describes their longing for forgiveness. Their hearts are broken and weary. They are ready to come to God, their true home.
God says, “Come.” He welcomes his children home.
Are you away from God, your home? Then say to him, “I want to come home, God. I want to be with you and your other children. I want to honor you and love you. I want to be in a place of peace and joy.”
Pause and Consider: the many ways God is your home—and go to him.
Monday, May 16, 2011
May 17 , 2011 Teach
Teach
Read Psalms 82-86
Psalms 82:3-7 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 5 “They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”
PARENTS, TEACHERS, what do you do with children? In one word, what would you say is the main thing? My answer would be: Teach.
You have to teach children, don’t you. You teach them to walk, to say “Thank You.” to obey what you say. And you teach them so much more.
Do you give up when they don’t get it the first time? I hope you don’t. I’m sure you don’t.
These verses from Psalm 82 gave me a big wake up. I was really angry with some people today. They are new to Jesus, and they still do some really dumb things. I was ready to give up on them, turn them over to their weakness.
Then I read these verses. I saw “defend” “rescue” “deliver” and “weak”. And I was ashamed of my attitude. And I repent of my arrogance.
Certainly to God I do some dumb things and am a weak sinner who needs to be delivered out of his weakness. I need God to teach me and to rescue me. And as I become safe with him through his teaching, he calls me to be a rescuer for others in darkness.
“Thank you, God, you’re not like me, ready to give up on me when I don’t get it. Thank you, God, you rescue me each day . May I be a rescuer for you.” Amen.
Pause and Consider: someone who makes you angry and see them through God’s eyes.
Read Psalms 82-86
Psalms 82:3-7 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 5 “They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”
PARENTS, TEACHERS, what do you do with children? In one word, what would you say is the main thing? My answer would be: Teach.
You have to teach children, don’t you. You teach them to walk, to say “Thank You.” to obey what you say. And you teach them so much more.
Do you give up when they don’t get it the first time? I hope you don’t. I’m sure you don’t.
These verses from Psalm 82 gave me a big wake up. I was really angry with some people today. They are new to Jesus, and they still do some really dumb things. I was ready to give up on them, turn them over to their weakness.
Then I read these verses. I saw “defend” “rescue” “deliver” and “weak”. And I was ashamed of my attitude. And I repent of my arrogance.
Certainly to God I do some dumb things and am a weak sinner who needs to be delivered out of his weakness. I need God to teach me and to rescue me. And as I become safe with him through his teaching, he calls me to be a rescuer for others in darkness.
“Thank you, God, you’re not like me, ready to give up on me when I don’t get it. Thank you, God, you rescue me each day . May I be a rescuer for you.” Amen.
Pause and Consider: someone who makes you angry and see them through God’s eyes.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
May 16 Tell the Kids
May 16
Tell the Kids
Read Psalms 78-81
Ps 78:4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
ON MY library shelf is a book about my father’s side of the family. The book is a collection of stories of ancestors who came from Europe. Paging through, I see how people with different last names, unique talents, and diverse backgrounds come together under the word “relative”. I see my connection through great-great-great-grandparents to hundreds of individuals. It’s very cool. I would like to see a similar book for my mother’s side. (Another book?)
I love knowing about my family. Stories of who they were and are connect me in some way to each one. In that connection, I feel a responsibility to be a good member of the family and to tell my children. I hope my children learn of their family, and carry the family stories forward to the future.
There’s another book in my library that connects me to many, many people. The Bible tells me how I’m connected to the very beginning of mankind on the earth. The Bible tells me God’s story of my spiritual heritage and gives me a picture of how I am to live in this family with my millions of relatives.
Yes, God has written his story to tell of his law and his grace, and he tells us he has a place for us as we confess our sins and accept his grace.
And when we do, God’s Spirit has come to live in us to form us into a child of God, the Father and brother and sister to the Son, Jesus.
The psalmist proclaims we must tell the next generation. We must tell God’s story to our children and their children, extending God’s story into the future, so it will always be available to all people.
God has given to us an eternal story, a life-changing story. Has it changed your life? Will you tell your children?
Pause and Consider: how God’s story brings you into the family with Jesus, Lord and Savior.
Tell the Kids
Read Psalms 78-81
Ps 78:4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
ON MY library shelf is a book about my father’s side of the family. The book is a collection of stories of ancestors who came from Europe. Paging through, I see how people with different last names, unique talents, and diverse backgrounds come together under the word “relative”. I see my connection through great-great-great-grandparents to hundreds of individuals. It’s very cool. I would like to see a similar book for my mother’s side. (Another book?)
I love knowing about my family. Stories of who they were and are connect me in some way to each one. In that connection, I feel a responsibility to be a good member of the family and to tell my children. I hope my children learn of their family, and carry the family stories forward to the future.
There’s another book in my library that connects me to many, many people. The Bible tells me how I’m connected to the very beginning of mankind on the earth. The Bible tells me God’s story of my spiritual heritage and gives me a picture of how I am to live in this family with my millions of relatives.
Yes, God has written his story to tell of his law and his grace, and he tells us he has a place for us as we confess our sins and accept his grace.
And when we do, God’s Spirit has come to live in us to form us into a child of God, the Father and brother and sister to the Son, Jesus.
The psalmist proclaims we must tell the next generation. We must tell God’s story to our children and their children, extending God’s story into the future, so it will always be available to all people.
God has given to us an eternal story, a life-changing story. Has it changed your life? Will you tell your children?
Pause and Consider: how God’s story brings you into the family with Jesus, Lord and Savior.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
May 15 Love Him
Love Him
Read Psalms 74-77
Ps 74:10 How long will the enemy mock you, O God? Will the foe revile your name forever?
THERE HAVE been many, many years when God was neglected and ignored in Israel. Within the hearts and minds of God’s own people there lived a desire for false gods that lead to wicked acts.
People ignored God’s ways. Eventually God would come to his people, and he would, in effect, answer the psalmist’s question and say, “Enough!” His judgment would be hard on his people.
Then they would return to him—for a time. And eventually, they would turn away, mocking God’s truth again. Ugh.
Does any of this sound familiar? Today, God is gone from our neighborhoods. He’s absent from our homes, and he’s been chased from the cities and farms. Everywhere you turn people mock him. They say such awful things as: “I got enough of God when I was in a Sunday school.” Or “I believe in God in my way.” Or “I really don’t like church—too many rules.” Or “Don’t you dare mention Jesus’ name when you pray in public.” Or “We need to tolerate those who do wrong.”
Well, you don’t have enough time to read all the ways people mock God. I just want you to pay attention to what you are saying—and doing—and how you are living.
Please be careful. Please honor him with your words and your ways and your worship. God sent his Son to die for you. Oh my. Can he love us so much?
Pause and Consider: if you’re willing to die to yourself to honor God.
Read Psalms 74-77
Ps 74:10 How long will the enemy mock you, O God? Will the foe revile your name forever?
THERE HAVE been many, many years when God was neglected and ignored in Israel. Within the hearts and minds of God’s own people there lived a desire for false gods that lead to wicked acts.
People ignored God’s ways. Eventually God would come to his people, and he would, in effect, answer the psalmist’s question and say, “Enough!” His judgment would be hard on his people.
Then they would return to him—for a time. And eventually, they would turn away, mocking God’s truth again. Ugh.
Does any of this sound familiar? Today, God is gone from our neighborhoods. He’s absent from our homes, and he’s been chased from the cities and farms. Everywhere you turn people mock him. They say such awful things as: “I got enough of God when I was in a Sunday school.” Or “I believe in God in my way.” Or “I really don’t like church—too many rules.” Or “Don’t you dare mention Jesus’ name when you pray in public.” Or “We need to tolerate those who do wrong.”
Well, you don’t have enough time to read all the ways people mock God. I just want you to pay attention to what you are saying—and doing—and how you are living.
Please be careful. Please honor him with your words and your ways and your worship. God sent his Son to die for you. Oh my. Can he love us so much?
Pause and Consider: if you’re willing to die to yourself to honor God.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
May 12, 2011 Ready to Go
Ready to Go
Read Psalms 62-65
Ps 62:1 Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense
ON THE DAY I write this, I have been waiting for 3 months for God’s next call on my ministry. I’m wondering why it takes so long, where will it be, and when will it happen?
Then I read this. David is waiting for God to rescue him from rebel enemies that threatened his throne. David had to escape to Moab. Thousands of people were uprooted, and David’s life was on the line.
So what’s my problem? Can’t I wait for a few weeks? Why do I need to know now?
Actually, when I think about it, the waiting has been very good. I’ve had a wonderful time with God in his Word of power, hope and joy. I’ve experienced intimate times of prayer with Him. I’m off to see the grandkids tomorrow. I’ve enjoyed very special moments with my wife.
Waiting can be difficult in the human way—joyful in the spiritual way. Waiting can be a great time of getting closer to God. And when you’re closer to God, you’re always closer to those around you. Waiting in God prepares you for the next thing God has prepared for you to do.
I’m glad for the waiting this summer. It really has been a time of growing, and now I’m ready to go where he leads me.
Pause and Consider: how restful waiting can be.
Read Psalms 62-65
Ps 62:1 Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense
ON THE DAY I write this, I have been waiting for 3 months for God’s next call on my ministry. I’m wondering why it takes so long, where will it be, and when will it happen?
Then I read this. David is waiting for God to rescue him from rebel enemies that threatened his throne. David had to escape to Moab. Thousands of people were uprooted, and David’s life was on the line.
So what’s my problem? Can’t I wait for a few weeks? Why do I need to know now?
Actually, when I think about it, the waiting has been very good. I’ve had a wonderful time with God in his Word of power, hope and joy. I’ve experienced intimate times of prayer with Him. I’m off to see the grandkids tomorrow. I’ve enjoyed very special moments with my wife.
Waiting can be difficult in the human way—joyful in the spiritual way. Waiting can be a great time of getting closer to God. And when you’re closer to God, you’re always closer to those around you. Waiting in God prepares you for the next thing God has prepared for you to do.
I’m glad for the waiting this summer. It really has been a time of growing, and now I’m ready to go where he leads me.
Pause and Consider: how restful waiting can be.
May 11, 2011 God, My Refuge
God, My Refuge
Read Psalms 58-62
Ps 59:8-9 But you laugh at them, LORD; you mock all the heathen. 9 I have confidence in your strength; you are my refuge, O God.
WHAT WOULD you say and do if there were armed men in your front yard waiting for you to leave the house? Perhaps the president of the United States had sent special forces to attack you, even though you are innocent, even though you support the president and the United States with all of your heart! What would you say or do?
Would you curse the president? Would you cower in fear? Would you curse God?
The occasion of these psalms is King Saul’s first attacks on David. Recorded in 1 Sam 19:11 “Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning.”
Wow! Where’s God? All David had done was good for Saul, and now Saul is out to kill him. Worse, Saul’s attempts to kill David would continue for many years. Would David say, “What’s up, God? I thought you were on my side. Curse you for abandoning me!”
Not David. No, he has a deep passion for his God. It is a passion that sees through the darkness into the light. David sees God. David knows God is present to protect him. And David PRAISES him!
My friends, whatever the darkness—even if it is the darkness of extreme guilt and shame—turn to God. Welcome in his love. Trust him to conquer your enemies and know he will come to you. You have the same God as David. I pray you have the same heart as David’s heart that trusted God.
Pause and Consider: how powerful praise language is on your heart.
Read Psalms 58-62
Ps 59:8-9 But you laugh at them, LORD; you mock all the heathen. 9 I have confidence in your strength; you are my refuge, O God.
WHAT WOULD you say and do if there were armed men in your front yard waiting for you to leave the house? Perhaps the president of the United States had sent special forces to attack you, even though you are innocent, even though you support the president and the United States with all of your heart! What would you say or do?
Would you curse the president? Would you cower in fear? Would you curse God?
The occasion of these psalms is King Saul’s first attacks on David. Recorded in 1 Sam 19:11 “Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning.”
Wow! Where’s God? All David had done was good for Saul, and now Saul is out to kill him. Worse, Saul’s attempts to kill David would continue for many years. Would David say, “What’s up, God? I thought you were on my side. Curse you for abandoning me!”
Not David. No, he has a deep passion for his God. It is a passion that sees through the darkness into the light. David sees God. David knows God is present to protect him. And David PRAISES him!
My friends, whatever the darkness—even if it is the darkness of extreme guilt and shame—turn to God. Welcome in his love. Trust him to conquer your enemies and know he will come to you. You have the same God as David. I pray you have the same heart as David’s heart that trusted God.
Pause and Consider: how powerful praise language is on your heart.
May 10, 2011 Cleaned Up
Cleaned Up
Read Psalms 51-57
Ps 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
WHAT happens when you’ve realized you have done a great wrong to someone you love? You realize the wrong, and then you have deep regret. For days you may wonder what you can do or say to right the wrong. Your heart feels dirty, and you don’t know how to clean it.
In this psalm, David is responding to the great sin of adultery and murder he did with Bathsheba and against her husband Uriah. God had come to him through the prophet Nathan. God accused, and he judged David. And David’s heart was filled with guilt.
The guilt of sin took away his joy. You know what that’s like, don’t you? You were wrong, and now the guilt grinds your heart to a halt as dirt poured into a car engine.
What do you do? You do what David did. He called on the Lord to cleanse him. Yes, he called on the One who judged him because the Judge is the Savior. He will save us from our sin when we admit, “I’m dirty, and I need cleaning.”
God’s cleansing is yours – for free. It’s the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. Jesus came to show God’s pure heart to the world. Jesus came to bleed his pure blood for you.
Call on God to create in you a clean heart with the blood of Christ. When you do, release the guilt to him. It is finished. Go and live in the joy of clean soul with him. Amen.
Pause and Consider: God is so creative, he can even create in you a new heart.
Read Psalms 51-57
Ps 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
WHAT happens when you’ve realized you have done a great wrong to someone you love? You realize the wrong, and then you have deep regret. For days you may wonder what you can do or say to right the wrong. Your heart feels dirty, and you don’t know how to clean it.
In this psalm, David is responding to the great sin of adultery and murder he did with Bathsheba and against her husband Uriah. God had come to him through the prophet Nathan. God accused, and he judged David. And David’s heart was filled with guilt.
The guilt of sin took away his joy. You know what that’s like, don’t you? You were wrong, and now the guilt grinds your heart to a halt as dirt poured into a car engine.
What do you do? You do what David did. He called on the Lord to cleanse him. Yes, he called on the One who judged him because the Judge is the Savior. He will save us from our sin when we admit, “I’m dirty, and I need cleaning.”
God’s cleansing is yours – for free. It’s the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. Jesus came to show God’s pure heart to the world. Jesus came to bleed his pure blood for you.
Call on God to create in you a clean heart with the blood of Christ. When you do, release the guilt to him. It is finished. Go and live in the joy of clean soul with him. Amen.
Pause and Consider: God is so creative, he can even create in you a new heart.
May 9, 2011 A City of Peace
The City of Peace
Read Psalms 48-50
Ps 48:2 the city of the great king brings joy to all the world.
PRAISE to the city of God. The psalmist’s words give us a picture of Jerusalem being a fortress for God’s people. The city protects them from attack. And the city “brings joy to all the world”.
How does a city do that? Quite simply, when a city is a place of peace, people want to come and escape from their troubles at home. When a city is a place of worship, people want to come and worship their LORD. When the city is a place of law-abiding citizens, it is a joy to be in a place where people get along. When a city has good news of hope to share with the world, people love to read about it.
Now let’s change the word “city” to “church”. In God’s ultimate plan of a new heaven and earth, his “city” the church will be established over all the earth. His church will be the place of joy to all the earth.
Do you think it’s a good time to begin being that church? Do you think your church should bring joy to all the world?
Pause and Consider: joy to the world, the Lord has come, and he’s coming again.
Read Psalms 48-50
Ps 48:2 the city of the great king brings joy to all the world.
PRAISE to the city of God. The psalmist’s words give us a picture of Jerusalem being a fortress for God’s people. The city protects them from attack. And the city “brings joy to all the world”.
How does a city do that? Quite simply, when a city is a place of peace, people want to come and escape from their troubles at home. When a city is a place of worship, people want to come and worship their LORD. When the city is a place of law-abiding citizens, it is a joy to be in a place where people get along. When a city has good news of hope to share with the world, people love to read about it.
Now let’s change the word “city” to “church”. In God’s ultimate plan of a new heaven and earth, his “city” the church will be established over all the earth. His church will be the place of joy to all the earth.
Do you think it’s a good time to begin being that church? Do you think your church should bring joy to all the world?
Pause and Consider: joy to the world, the Lord has come, and he’s coming again.
May 8, 2011 Sing a Song
Sing a Song
Read Psalms 46-47
Ps 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
CONVERSATIONS THIS WEEK—talk of fear and uncertainty, discussions of weariness and sadness. In that talk it is difficult to see the answers and to trust. In our hearts lurks this ever-present challenge: What next? Whom can you trust? What to do? What’s right?
And then the psalm rings out loud and clear. What is there to fear? Oh, my friends, trust in God, and you truly, truly have nothing to fear, nothing to wonder, nothing to worry about—in life or in death.
For God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
You can trust David’s words. David was a fugitive. David had the guilt of the death of 80 priests and their families on his conscience. David lost control of his lust. David denied his sons, and David’s vanity counted the numbers of his army.
David’s sins were deep and painful. His heart was filled with their dirt. Broken family, broken promises, broken faith, sin tore him up, cast him aside and left him for dead. What to do?
There was still one thing, the only thing. There was a song that came in his heart and the song gave him life.
Sing a song of praise. Lift your hands, lift your heart, lift your mind to the Lord who saves. Your God is above all things. Trust the One, w ho is an ever-present help in time of need.
Pause and Consider: that God is ever-present with you.
Read Psalms 46-47
Ps 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
CONVERSATIONS THIS WEEK—talk of fear and uncertainty, discussions of weariness and sadness. In that talk it is difficult to see the answers and to trust. In our hearts lurks this ever-present challenge: What next? Whom can you trust? What to do? What’s right?
And then the psalm rings out loud and clear. What is there to fear? Oh, my friends, trust in God, and you truly, truly have nothing to fear, nothing to wonder, nothing to worry about—in life or in death.
For God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
You can trust David’s words. David was a fugitive. David had the guilt of the death of 80 priests and their families on his conscience. David lost control of his lust. David denied his sons, and David’s vanity counted the numbers of his army.
David’s sins were deep and painful. His heart was filled with their dirt. Broken family, broken promises, broken faith, sin tore him up, cast him aside and left him for dead. What to do?
There was still one thing, the only thing. There was a song that came in his heart and the song gave him life.
Sing a song of praise. Lift your hands, lift your heart, lift your mind to the Lord who saves. Your God is above all things. Trust the One, w ho is an ever-present help in time of need.
Pause and Consider: that God is ever-present with you.
Friday, May 6, 2011
May 7, 2011 Drink Deeply
Drink Deeply
Read Psalms 40-45
Ps 40:17 Yet I am poor and needy; 5 the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
&
Ps 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
THIRSTY—a desire for water. Thirst—a desire to drink deeply.
We thirst for happiness. We want to drink peace and joy into our lives. We long to quench the thirst of our sorrow and our shame. Our soul is dry. What cools our thirst?
Our Father, who is in heaven, soothes our thirst. The cool water of his love rushes into our body as we drink of his Word. The cool water of his assurance quenches our despair and discouragement. The water of his strength wets our cracked lips with hope. And as the deer at the watering hole, we have new life.
Pant for God, my friends. Walk along the path to the Living Water, the well of life. Long for his word, and you will be satisfied. Fill your lips, your tongue, your throat, your stomach with the Living Word of the Father Almighty. Long for the water and call to Jesus:
John 4:15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Drink the Living Water and be cooled in God’s grace.
Pause and Consider: how good it is to drink fresh, cold water on a hot day.
Read Psalms 40-45
Ps 40:17 Yet I am poor and needy; 5 the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
&
Ps 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
THIRSTY—a desire for water. Thirst—a desire to drink deeply.
We thirst for happiness. We want to drink peace and joy into our lives. We long to quench the thirst of our sorrow and our shame. Our soul is dry. What cools our thirst?
Our Father, who is in heaven, soothes our thirst. The cool water of his love rushes into our body as we drink of his Word. The cool water of his assurance quenches our despair and discouragement. The water of his strength wets our cracked lips with hope. And as the deer at the watering hole, we have new life.
Pant for God, my friends. Walk along the path to the Living Water, the well of life. Long for his word, and you will be satisfied. Fill your lips, your tongue, your throat, your stomach with the Living Word of the Father Almighty. Long for the water and call to Jesus:
John 4:15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Drink the Living Water and be cooled in God’s grace.
Pause and Consider: how good it is to drink fresh, cold water on a hot day.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
may 6, 2011 God's Passion for You
High, Deep Passion for You
Read Psalms 36-39
Ps 36:5-6 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.
&
Ps 36:10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
ONE OF the most impossible things to know is the height and depth of God’s love. The psalmist tries to give us a picture of a love as high as the mountains, faithfulness even higher in the sky, and righteousness to the depths of the ocean.
We seldom consider such greatness in our God and put great limits on him. For example, “I did this nasty thing. Does he still love me?” “Where is God? I need a job?” “It’s really okay if we don’t tithe (There are things I need!)” “I don’t read his Word (It’s not for me.)”
David praises God’s mountaintop love, sky-high faithfulness and deep righteousness. A God such as this will stay with you when you walk away, give you strength when your faith weakens, and help you understand when you want answers.
When you trust God has a passion for you that goes from the cross to the tomb to the throne of Heaven, your heart for him will grow. And your big heart will trust him more deeply in all things.
Pause and Consider: a big heart has more room for God’s love.
Read Psalms 36-39
Ps 36:5-6 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.
&
Ps 36:10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
ONE OF the most impossible things to know is the height and depth of God’s love. The psalmist tries to give us a picture of a love as high as the mountains, faithfulness even higher in the sky, and righteousness to the depths of the ocean.
We seldom consider such greatness in our God and put great limits on him. For example, “I did this nasty thing. Does he still love me?” “Where is God? I need a job?” “It’s really okay if we don’t tithe (There are things I need!)” “I don’t read his Word (It’s not for me.)”
David praises God’s mountaintop love, sky-high faithfulness and deep righteousness. A God such as this will stay with you when you walk away, give you strength when your faith weakens, and help you understand when you want answers.
When you trust God has a passion for you that goes from the cross to the tomb to the throne of Heaven, your heart for him will grow. And your big heart will trust him more deeply in all things.
Pause and Consider: a big heart has more room for God’s love.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
May 5, 2011 Taste and See
Taste and See
Read Psalms 32-35
Ps 32:7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
&
Ps 33:11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
&
Ps 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
&
Ps 35:28 My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.
WHERE DO WE go when the hard days come? We go and hide in the Lord.
What do we do when the world says, “Come, it’s really better over here.” We go and hide in the Lord.
What do we do when disease weakens and seeks to destroy? We go and hide in the Lord.
What do we do when there’s nowhere to turn, when the question looms large, “Now what?” We go and hide in the Lord.
To hide in the Lord does not mean we are cowardly and weak. To hide in the Lord means we seek his strength and wisdom. To hide in the Lord means we let go of what we think is best, and we seek what is best in him.
To hide in the Lord means we cover our lives with the blanket of his truth. We “taste and see that the Lord is good”. Oh, he is so good my friends. He is true and right and complete. Let his wisdom reign over all you think and say and do. You will taste and see that the LORD is good.
Pause and Consider: how delicious it is to taste God’s love on you.
Read Psalms 32-35
Ps 32:7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
&
Ps 33:11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
&
Ps 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
&
Ps 35:28 My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.
WHERE DO WE go when the hard days come? We go and hide in the Lord.
What do we do when the world says, “Come, it’s really better over here.” We go and hide in the Lord.
What do we do when disease weakens and seeks to destroy? We go and hide in the Lord.
What do we do when there’s nowhere to turn, when the question looms large, “Now what?” We go and hide in the Lord.
To hide in the Lord does not mean we are cowardly and weak. To hide in the Lord means we seek his strength and wisdom. To hide in the Lord means we let go of what we think is best, and we seek what is best in him.
To hide in the Lord means we cover our lives with the blanket of his truth. We “taste and see that the Lord is good”. Oh, he is so good my friends. He is true and right and complete. Let his wisdom reign over all you think and say and do. You will taste and see that the LORD is good.
Pause and Consider: how delicious it is to taste God’s love on you.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
May 4, 2011 Joyful Hope for You
Joyful Hope for You
Read Psalms 25-31
Ps 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
GOD IS everything. “Oh, I know that,” you might say. But I want to challenge you. Do you really know that God is everything?
Someone called today. Lost, depressed, disappointed, she didn’t know what to do. Hope was gone. “What should I do?” she asked.
What she should do is what we all should do: get to know that our God is “my Savior” and our hope is in Him “all day long”.
How do we know this? You will see that hope in God’s Word, beginning to end. There are many difficult stories in Scripture, and it is clear God desires to bring his people into the hope of eternal life. You can hear this in testimony of people in the church who have experienced the God of hope changing their lives. Read the stories from the ages past. Know the stories are true today. And you will know your God has hope for you.
Put your hope in the Creator. From his breath comes the life of the universe. From his hand comes the shape of the planets, the form of the mountains, the depths of the sea—and you. Every marvelous, intricate wonder you are is from God. Why would he not offer his hope to you?
David understood God’s hope in his heart. I pray your heart knows God’s hope, too. Yes, you can trust God’s hope is for you.
Pause and Consider: what will happen when you read the Bible as your own story of hope.
Read Psalms 25-31
Ps 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
GOD IS everything. “Oh, I know that,” you might say. But I want to challenge you. Do you really know that God is everything?
Someone called today. Lost, depressed, disappointed, she didn’t know what to do. Hope was gone. “What should I do?” she asked.
What she should do is what we all should do: get to know that our God is “my Savior” and our hope is in Him “all day long”.
How do we know this? You will see that hope in God’s Word, beginning to end. There are many difficult stories in Scripture, and it is clear God desires to bring his people into the hope of eternal life. You can hear this in testimony of people in the church who have experienced the God of hope changing their lives. Read the stories from the ages past. Know the stories are true today. And you will know your God has hope for you.
Put your hope in the Creator. From his breath comes the life of the universe. From his hand comes the shape of the planets, the form of the mountains, the depths of the sea—and you. Every marvelous, intricate wonder you are is from God. Why would he not offer his hope to you?
David understood God’s hope in his heart. I pray your heart knows God’s hope, too. Yes, you can trust God’s hope is for you.
Pause and Consider: what will happen when you read the Bible as your own story of hope.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
May 2 Focus on the Gift
Focus on the Gift
Read Psalms 14-18
Ps 18:49-50 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. 50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
HOW’S YOUR “praise quotient” today? Are you focusing on the struggles, or are you focusing on the blessings?
The struggles seem to take the front-row seats in our minds, don’t they? We consider what we don’t have instead of what we have. We think of what could have been instead of what is. We consider, “Why can’t I?” instead of “What are my options?”
David, who wrote this psalm, had many opportunities to consider what could have been. He had a very difficult life. Some was his own doing. Other struggles came from Saul, other enemies, and his own family.
But David did something amazing. In these struggles, through these struggles and after his struggles he considered how God had blessed him. He placed God’s love and kindness above all things. He understood God’s promise to care for his family forever. To grow in God, to trust him in who we are, what he gives us, and what he invites us to do, we need to understand God’s promises, too.
In what ways has God shown his unfailing kindness to you? One way is the heaven-bound way. He sent his Son to die for you, so that you and your family who follow him will receive his kindness forever.
When you’re considering your struggles, consider God’s “unfailing kindness”. Focus on the gift and praise the LORD among the nations.
Pause and Consider: how eternal “unfailing” is.
Read Psalms 14-18
Ps 18:49-50 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. 50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
HOW’S YOUR “praise quotient” today? Are you focusing on the struggles, or are you focusing on the blessings?
The struggles seem to take the front-row seats in our minds, don’t they? We consider what we don’t have instead of what we have. We think of what could have been instead of what is. We consider, “Why can’t I?” instead of “What are my options?”
David, who wrote this psalm, had many opportunities to consider what could have been. He had a very difficult life. Some was his own doing. Other struggles came from Saul, other enemies, and his own family.
But David did something amazing. In these struggles, through these struggles and after his struggles he considered how God had blessed him. He placed God’s love and kindness above all things. He understood God’s promise to care for his family forever. To grow in God, to trust him in who we are, what he gives us, and what he invites us to do, we need to understand God’s promises, too.
In what ways has God shown his unfailing kindness to you? One way is the heaven-bound way. He sent his Son to die for you, so that you and your family who follow him will receive his kindness forever.
When you’re considering your struggles, consider God’s “unfailing kindness”. Focus on the gift and praise the LORD among the nations.
Pause and Consider: how eternal “unfailing” is.
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