Psalm 94

Well, it's been over a month since I blogged about what I'm studying in the Psalms. I'm finding out a lot of great stuff and some awesome promises from God, but I made a commitment to myself that I will only blog when I really and truly have the free time. This morning I just have to blog about this psalm though.

Last night at church, I tried something different with our youth group. I have felt very convicted lately that we spend a lot of time teaching our youth group and not discipling them. We don't give them the resources they need to grow spiritually, and then we get mad when they turn to drugs or alcohol, or think church is boring and doesn't relate to them. I just really believe I personally have failed them in this way. So last night, at church, my point was to show them how I study the Bible and see if it's a way that they think will help them study. We went to http://www.random.org and picked a random psalm to study - Psalm 94. I had not ever studied this one, so I was just as clueless as them about the history and content. We read through the whole thing one time and then I explained to them my highlighting methods - blue colored pencil for actions of God, red colored pencil for actions I should take, and yellow colored pencil for characteristics of God. I asserted to them that this is simply how I do it and it may not work for them. Some of my very prepared teen girls actually had colored pencils on hand, so I was able to actually highlight with them while we talked!

We read through the entire psalm one time at first and it didn't make any sense to me. Some verses stood out to them and myself, but the whole thing didn't really come together. So we went verse by verse and tried to figure out what it meant and how it would relate to us. We got through verse 17 of the 23 verses, so I hope some of them went home and tried to finish reading and understanding it.

So this blog post today is a conglomeration of thoughts, from each of our youth members who came to church last night. They added some incredible thoughts and ideas. Some of them brought up things in the verses which I never would have thought of on my own, which is the fabulous thing about studying the Bible with other people. I am not ashamed to say when I don't understand something, and if someone ten years younger than me can explain it to me, then that is just fine with me!

I hope this blesses you and encourages you. I was so proud of our youth group. They are so smart and I was really impressed.

So, today's scripture is Psalm 94. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
² Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
³ Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
⁴ How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
⁵ They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage.
⁶ They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
⁷ Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
⁸ Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
⁹ He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
¹⁰ He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
¹¹ The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
¹² Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law;
¹³ That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
¹⁴ For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
¹⁵ But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
¹⁷ Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
¹⁸ When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
¹⁹ In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
²⁰ Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
²¹ They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
²² But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
²³ And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.

The first thing we noticed was in verse 1. The action of vengeance is supposed to be taken care of by God. When I highlight that in blue, to me, it's a reminder that it's not something I'm supposed to be partaking in. Vengeance is God's responsibility. The person writing this psalm is asking God to show up, because it's time to reap some vengeance on somebody.

In verse 2, we see that God is the judge of the earth. This is a characteristic of Him that is really significant for us, because we know that Judgment Day will eventually come. It's also significant because we know that God judges all of us right now. The person praying in this psalm is begging for God to lift Himself up and judge these wicked people - render them their reward. We talked about the phrase "getting their just reward" and how it means that people will get what they deserve. That's what this psalmist is talking about. Obviously he has been wronged or is seeing some wicked happenings around him, and he's wondering when God is going to take some action.

Verse 3-4 - We often think this way. God, how long are the wicked people going to be in control? They keep getting wealthier and more powerful... how long will that happen? They're talking with disrespect to God and they're boasting in themselves? How long will you let this go on, God?

Verse 5 - I didn't understand this verse at all. One of the youth members brought up the great idea that these people are probably causing division in the church ("break in pieces") and when it says "afflict thine heritage" it is probably talking about being disrespectful of God and the Christian faith. Another youth leader brought up the idea that "break in pieces" could be literal and be physical punishments (such as dismemberment, beheadings) of people in the Christian faith. Of course, that happened frequently in these times.

Verses 6-8 - Verse 6 is pretty straightforward. They are killing widows, strangers, and fatherless. Wickedness and sin are out of control. We are seeing this more right now than I've ever seen in my lifetime. Yet these people don't care (verse 7). They think God doesn't exist, so He won't see these actions and He doesn't pay attention to the stuff that goes on in our world. The youth group agreed this is mocking God. In verse 8, the author of the psalm says these people are senseless and foolish, and when will they wise up and realize that God is GOD?

Verses 9-10 are important for us to remember. God gave us our ears - yet some people think He can't hear us? He formed our yes - yet they think He can't see what happens? He will chastise those who go against Him - yet we think He won't correct us when we do wrong? He teaches knowledge - yet we think He doesn't know what people do or what we're thinking? We don't give God enough credit as Christians, so of course people who don't know Christ are going to disregard Him.

Verse 11 - God knows all of our thoughts. He knows they are meaningless and He knows that our minds and thoughts can't be trusted. We referred to 1 Corinthians 3:20 because it was in some of our Bibles as a reference. It says almost the same thing - "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." So whether we are Christians or not, our minds are not trustworthy. None of the ideas or thoughts that we form are any good unless they come from God.

Verses 12-13 We felt that these should be read together. We are blessed when God chastens us. That just means we are lovingly disciplined - to get us back in the right direction. One of the youth leaders described this as how we discipline our children. It's not just because we like to discipline and we're power hungry. It's to keep them safe and teach them. I underlined the phrase "teachest him out of thy law". I want to remember that all good things are taught from the Bible. That's why it's so important to be in the Bible every day and trying to figure out what we don't understand. A good teacher, a good father, is going to not just say, "You can't do that!" He will say, "Don't do that. Do it this way." A good teacher and a good father (like God) does not expect us to figure out everything on our own. He wants to show us the right way. He wants to point us in the right direction. But we do have to put in some effort - such as reading the Bible and praying, so we have that intimate relationship with Him. And then we see in verse 13 that God wants to give us rest. He doesn't want us going through trials and troubles in our lives. He wants us to have relief. I compared it to the feeling you get when you've had a headache for a long time and then suddenly it's gone. That sense of relief feels so good. God wants that for us! So when he disciplines us and teaches us, it's ultimately so we can have that time of rest from the consequences in our lives. We talked about how a lot of bad things that happen to us are consequences of the decisions we make. God wants to keep us from that heartache.

Verse 14 - God will not cast off His people. He won't forsake us. These are great promises to highlight and remember.

Verse 15 - This verse confused me but we think we figured it out together. One youth leader referred us to the book of Jude, which we didn't read, but encouraged the youth to read at a later time when they're studying. One day there will be a judgment. Yes, on all of us. And we will be able to rejoice in that time because at that time righteousness will reign. God will take back this world and He will rule like He is meant to.

Verse 16 - Who will stand? Will you stand against persecutors? Will you stand against people who make fun of you? Will you stand against people who question your faith? Are you standing up for your faith right now? If not, I'm not sure you will be able to endure what may possibly happen in our lifetime - which will be more frequent persecution and more drastic ways of persecution.

Verse 17 - Unless the Lord had been my help. This totally struck me. My soul had almost dwelt in silence. I talked about how close I was to "dwelling in silence". I thought I was a Christian for many years, but my life had not changed. I was on the brink of my soul dwelling in silence. It's a sobering thought. Thankfully, God spoke to me through the members of church and I got saved six years ago. None of us can stand on our own two feet (above verse). We must have God's help.

Verse 18 - Every time my foot slips, God in His mercy holds me up. That is an incredible promise to know. 

Verse 19 - When I am overwhelmed by my thoughts, and I'm feeling anxious, the comfort of God will make my soul happy. He can relieve these thoughts and feelings inside of me. 

Verses 20-21 - This will begin happening more frequently, I believe. People will gather themselves together against innocent people who are believers. Government will turn against Christians. More and more people will begin to persecute.

Verse 22-23. But God is my defense. He is my Rock. He is my Refuge. And eventually, yes, these people will pay for the evil they've done. God will cut them off and destroy them. It may not happen in our time and we may not even see it until Judgment Day, but I believe because the Bible says it, this is a promise that this will happen.

Psalm 18

Today's scripture is Psalm 18. Go here to read it in your preferred version. (I know this is a long one, but hang with me!)

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
² The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
³ I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
⁴ The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
⁵ The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
⁷ Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
⁸ There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
⁹ He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
¹⁰ And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
¹² At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
¹³ The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
¹⁴ Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
¹⁵ Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
¹⁶ He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
¹⁹ He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
²⁰ The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
²³ I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
²⁴ Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
²⁵ With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
²⁶ With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
²⁷ For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
²⁸ For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
²⁹ For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
³¹ For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?
³² It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
³³ He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
³⁴ He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
³⁵ Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
³⁶ Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
³⁷ I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
³⁸ I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
³⁹ For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
⁴⁰ Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
⁴¹ They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
⁴² Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
⁴³ Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
⁴⁴ As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
⁴⁵ The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
⁴⁶ The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
⁴⁷ It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
⁴⁸ He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
⁴⁹ Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
⁵⁰ Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

I will love you, my God. You are my strength!

He is my rock. Literally my "stronghold" or my "security". He is my fortress. Again, my "stronghold". He is my deliverer. My "safety", my "security", my "escape". He is Jehovah, the one true God. My strength. The one I can trust. My buckler, or my shield. The horn of my salvation. He is my salvation and the truth of that salvation. He is my high tower. My "refuge", my "stronghold", my "retreat".

I will call upon God who is so worthy of praise! Because of God and His works, I can be saved. Not of anything I could do.

Look at what God has delivered me from. A lot of this scripture applies to David personally but we all have things God has saved us from. We all have reasons why God should not love us. Yet he continues to deliver us and rescue us. 

Verse 4 - David was depressed - perhaps even suicidal at some point in his life. He was afraid of men even though he knew they were nothing compared to God. But David knew (verse 6) he could still call on God and his cries would be heard by God.

We can see the power of God in nature - the earth shakes and the hills move.

We can see His anger in action here. God is as a consuming fire. The coals are people who are just fanning those flames. But when we call on God, He Himself will bow the heavens and come to us.

Verse 11 - He makes darkness His secret place. To us, God is physically invisible. But when He shows himself to us the clouds pass and we see this brightness that is God.

God is thunder. He is hail and lightning. We see His power in these forms of nature.

Verses 15-19 - Thank God, when I am drowning, He will take me and deliver me. Draw me out from the water. He is my "stay". My comfort. He keeps me from sinking. He delivers me because He delights in me.

Verse 20 - Yes, God will reward me according to my righteousness. And according to the cleanness of my hands. Know what is great? I am clean because of what Jesus has done for me! So when God looks at me, He does see someone who is righteous!!

Verses 21-24 - David feels that he truly has kept the ways of God and not departed from them. David put God's commands first. He feels he was upright (innocent) and kept himself from sin.

Verses 25-26 - When we are merciful, God loves to show mercy to us. When we are pure, God will show us how pure He is. But when we are devious, or shrewd, God will show us He can be this way as well.

Verse 27 - God will save the poor/humble/lowly, but those who are haughty and pride-filled will most likely not even ask for help.

Verse 28 - God, you are my light. You are the one who takes away my darkness.

Verse 29 - With God's help I can get over any obstacle.

Verse 30 - God's way is perfect. His word is proven and tested. He is my shield. 

Verse 31 - There is no god except the one true God. He is the only true rock, too.

Verse 32 - It is God who gives me strength. Clothes me in strength, and shows me the right way to go.

Verse 33 - He sets me aside... separate. He has made me unique.

Verse 34 - He teaches me to run in certain circumstances but also knows I need to be equipped for battle too.

Verse 35 - God has given me the shield of salvation. He holds me in His hand. Lets me lean on His strong hand when I can't hold myself up. When God is gentle and patient with me, it makes me become a better person.

Verse 36 - God has made sure I won't slip as I walk on my daily path. He widens my path so I won't teeter so much.

Verses 37-40 God will save me from my enemies. This could be something other than people. Lusts, temptations, anxieties, doubts, fears, etc. We should loathe these things until they are under our feet. Destroy them. Ask God to help subdue this thing against us.

Verse 42 - When we rely on God, our troubles and crises can turn "as small as dust". He will give us strength to cast those things out of our lives and into the streets.

Verse 46 - The Lord lives. Blessed be my rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted!

Verses 47-48 - God will avenge me. There is no need for me to try to do that. He will deliver me. He will help me rise above any of this mess on earth.

Verses 49-50 - I will give thanks to God and sing praises to Him because He has delivered me and shown mercy to me.

Psalm 29

Today's scripture is Psalm 29. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
² Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
³ The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
⁵ The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
⁷ The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁹ The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
¹⁰ The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.
¹¹ The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

Verse 1 - We are to give God glory. Even if we are "mighty" - in strength or power, that is - God is so much higher than us. Any power we have on earth is because God has given it to us. Not that God needs us to give Him glory, but the recognition of what He has given us is a gift to Him.

Verse 2 - We should give God the glory due His name. I feel like one way we can do this is by being a living sacrifice.

Romans 12:1 - "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

God should be our "beauty" and "holiness" we are worshiping. We should adore Him. We should worship Him alone and in a holy place. And we need to strive to be holy in all that we do, too.

Verse 3-4 - I love the power of God in creation! His voice is on the waters. It's in the sound of the waves... that peace you feel in the early morning hours at the beach... that part of the day where your muscles relax and you are just smiling for no reason. His voice also thunders though, showing His power. His voice is power! His voice is majestic.

Verses 5-9 - Here we see God's dominion over the earth. His voice breaks trees - even the strongest cedars. His voice may be in the wind which breaks through the strongest trees. His voice may be in earthquakes, which makes the trees skip. His voice can divide lightning upon the earth and scatter the fire as He wants to. The thunder of God's voice can shake the whole wilderness. We have certainly felt the earth shake during thunderstorms, so I can definitely visualize these words even without ever feeling a real earthquake. Calves may be terrified into giving birth early and animals may run to and from hiding places in the forest upon hearing this thunder. God is so powerful even in nature that everyone in His temple is talking about His glory.

Verse 10 - God sits as King forever. He sits upon the flood. He is in charge of the things and activities of nature. And as He sits, He judges. And yes, I believe at times He uses nature to remind us of His power.

Verse 11 - Thank God He will give us strength and peace! He will bless those of us who continue to have faith in Him.  

Psalm 28

Today's scripture is Psalm 28. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
² Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
³ Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
⁴ Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
⁵ Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
⁶ Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
⁸ The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
⁹ Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

  
God, you are my rock. You are the only thing in my life that never moves. So I'm throwing myself at you, clinging to you and crying out to you. When I do that, I beg you, don't be silent. Show me you are listening, so I don't get discouraged and show a lack of faith as someone who is unsaved. I'm crying out to you, God. I'm humbling myself, lifting my hands and my voice to you. Hear me.

Grab me up and drag me away from the wickedness of the world. Completely remove me from it. Don't let me be that person who acts one way to people and another way behind their back. I do not want to be that person. That is a "double heart" (Psalm 12:2 - They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak).

People want so badly to make their choices and live however they want. David in this scripture plainly says - Okay, God, just give them what they want. Give them what they deserve.

At a certain point, God will not continue to try to turn your heart anymore. Rather than building you up, he will destroy you. This is to the person who continues to completely disregard God's works, or the things He has done. God is merciful but He will only  fight with you and your idols for so long.

It is such a blessing to be able to call on God. He does hear my pleas.

He is my strength. My shield. My heart trusts in Him and that helps me through every situation. It makes my heart rejoice and it just has to come out of my mouth in the form of praise. 

Because I am saved, God is my strength. He is my saving strength.

God, save us. Save us from ourselves. Bless us, God, although we are so undeserving. Feed us. Keep us safe and not wanting for anything. Lift me up out of my pit of neediness, or depression, or idolatry, or anxiety, or overwhelming feelings. Whatever my "pit" is, lift me up out of it, God, and restore me - because I am yours. Not because I am deserving. Because I am yours.

Questions? Comments?

Psalm 26

Today's scripture is Psalm 26. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
² Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
³ For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
⁴ I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
⁵ I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.
⁶ I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:
⁷ That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
⁸ Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
⁹ Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
¹⁰ In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
¹¹ But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
¹² My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.

How often do we ask God to judge us? I mean, really? I don't even want my husband to judge me based on what he sees, but God sees all I do and knows all my thoughts and motives. So it's 100 times harder to ask God to judge me. We should ask Him consistently to show us the things in our lives that need to be removed, but that is hard and scary. 

Another question we have to ask ourselves is when people do make accusations against us. God... is this true? Point this out to me. Judge me. Tell me if this is something I need to consider and change. I may feel as though I have walked in integrity and trusted in God but He can open my eyes and show me if this is not true.

Verse 2 - So examine me, God. Test me. Look in my heart and my thoughts and make sure they align with your will and your desires.

Verse 3 - God, you are so loving and kind. From that love should my actions come. We should act out of God's love, not any religious reason or to look good.

Verses 4-5 - David talks about things we should not do in these verses. We should not surround ourselves with people who are against God and who outright disobey Him. If we choose wisely who to hang out with, it helps us stay strong in our faith.

Verses 6-7 - We have to try to be the best Christian we can to stay intimate with God and to be a good example. When we live by God's word, people are more likely to listen to us when we tell them the wonders of God.

Verse 8 - We should love to be in God's presence. We should long to be with Him and other believers. This should be like home to us.

Verses 9-10 - We should dread being associated with this type of person. Of course we are called to love all people but I think we all know when we are taking a relationship too far and it is affecting our relationship with God. When their hands have mischief and they are miserable and have no desire to change, we should run from these people.

As for me (verse 11) - It's a personal decision we have to make throughout all our lives. So as for me, I will walk in integrity. I am redeemed and God has been merciful to me and I want to repay Him for that. Rather than focusing on what you are doing wrong and where I saw you last night and who you were with - I'm going to keep on doing gut checks on my own self instead. Because I want to keep walking in integrity. The more I'm focused on you and what you're doing, the less I'm focused on my path.

My feet will stand on solid, even ground. I don't want to stumble or turn. I want to always be part of the congregation that blesses and praises God.

Questions? Comments?

Psalm 146

Today's scripture is Psalm 146. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.
² While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
³ Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
⁴ His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
⁵ Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
⁶ Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
⁷ Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:
⁸ The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:
⁹ The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
¹⁰ The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

  
I must praise God - This is stated four times in the first two verses.

As long as I live I will praise Him. While I have a body I will praise God. I believe some people say this but it's just lip service. When things start to be hard in life they drift away from God and start to question His goodness. 

I have to remember not to put my trust in any human. Not a family member, a spouse, or a pastor. Not to say that I don't trust people, but I don't put them on a pedestal. If I give people too much credit and then they mess up, it will really disappoint me. It ought not to be that way. God is where my trust should lie, and God will never fail me!

Verse 4 makes another good point. Say I put all my trust in someone and then they die. In that moment, "his thoughts perish". God will never die and will never go away. He is the complete opposite of us humans. 

Happy is the person who asks for help from the God of Jacob. Who places his hope in God. The God who is the Creator, the keeper of truth, the righteous judge, the feeder of the hungry, the one who takes care of our needs, the one who breaks our bonds and chains, the one who opens the eyes of the blind, the one who lifts us up when we are bowed down. What an amazing God. He loves the righteous. He takes care of us whether we are homeless, fatherless, widowed, or any other affliction. But if we are an enemy of God, He can turn our world upside down.

God will reign forever. Regardless of our belief in Him. Praise Him. He will reign over every generation here on earth.

When I read this scripture it made me think of the song 10,000 Reasons. One of our favorites to sing at church, so I wanted to share it with you!

 



Questions? Comments?

Psalm 149

Today's scripture is Psalm 149. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
² Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
³ Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
⁴ For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
⁵ Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;
⁷ To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
⁸ To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
⁹ To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord.

We have so many commands in these nine verses.

• Praise! Praise in the congregation (verse 1), praise His name in dance (verse 3), let His praise be in my mouth (verse 6), praise the Lord (verse 9)
• Sing! Sing praises with instruments (verse 3), sing aloud (verse 5)
• Rejoice in Him! Rejoice in our Creator (verse 2)
• Be joyful! Be joyful in God our King (verse 2), be joyful in glory (verse 5)

The Lord takes pleasure in His saints (verse 4); He makes us beautiful with the gift of salvation (verse 4)

Verse 6-9 - I don't believe this is a call to war for Christians. I believe it could refer to Old Testament physical battles which were fought and won under God's control. It could also refer to our spiritual battles that we fight in every day. And we certainly must be prepared for those circumstances.

If I had to guess, I'd say that one or two of these commands in these verses come pretty naturally to some of us, and then maybe we struggle with the others. Of course, I have no idea who is reading this and I don't know your circumstances. But I can tell you, for example, I don't ever have to be reminded to sing to God. Singing praises to Him is just part of me that is like a natural reflex. But being joyful? Now sometimes that's a struggle. Let me give you a shining example from my life. Shopping is a very hands-on experience for our 2-year old Hunter. Anytime possible I keep him in a shopping cart, guarded from the temptations that can be found along the walls of whatever store we're in. But sometimes I'm just running in to grab one thing. ONE THING. And it doesn't matter how many times I say, "Okay guys, we're just going in to get a pack of baby wipes, and then we're paying and leaving!" - oh yeah, that goes in one ear and right out the other! Hunter is a "toucher". So he's got to touch everything within reach. It has lights on it? He's going to make them go. It makes a sound? He wants to hear it. It doesn't do anything? Then he's going to pick it up and shake it. He snatches things up faster than I can go behind him and clean them up sometimes! Now imagine that I just needed one thing and I have to be somewhere in ten minutes, and now I'm going to be late because I'm cleaning up after Mr. Hunter... do you think I'm feeling joyful in that moment? I'll go ahead and tell you the answer - NO! 

Unfortunately, I lose my joyful attitude more often than not some days. But I'm working on it. Every night I pray with both the kids before bed, and when I pray with Hunter I always, always thank God for his energy and his health. He might drive me nuts during the waking hours but I know how blessed I am that he can run me ragged. 

Rejoicing in God is also something that doesn't come that naturally to me, I'm sad to say. I am working on this too, though. I try not to say we are "lucky" if something good happens. I try to direct the kids to thank God for the circumstances because I want them to know He works in all the small things in our lives. But just like most people, there are plenty of times I forget to give God credit for things that happen in my life. I feel like I have just fixed things all by myself and I give myself a nice little pat on the back. Or I think, "Well that's fortunate, how that worked itself out." I'd like to give God more credit for the good things in my life, and I want to spend more time rejoicing in Him.

So what do you need to work on today? I know our pastor the other day was just talking about the oxymoron "miserable Christian". He said there should be no such thing as a miserable Christian. If you are truly saved, you at least have one thing to praise, sing, rejoice about and be joyful for! If nothing else in your life is good, you have eternal life with Jesus Christ! But if we show a sour outlook to those around us, they may feel that Christianity doesn't hold anything new for them. After all, anyone can be miserable, right? A Christian with the assurance of salvation should never fall into that category. We are above that because God has placed us above that. Sometimes we just need a little reminder of that.

Comments? Questions?

Psalm 17

Today's scripture is Psalm 17. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
² Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
³ Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
⁴ Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
⁵ Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
⁶ I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
⁷ Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
⁹ From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
¹⁰ They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
¹¹ They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
¹² Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
¹³ Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
¹⁴ From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
¹⁵ As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

When I cry out to God, He will hear my cry. But that does not mean He will give me what I ask. He is righteous, and at times I am deceitful and don't even realize it. If I am asking something in His will, I believe He won't hesitate to give it to me.

Because God can see our lives in a way that we never could, we should ask Him to judge us righteously. Every day I should ask God to test me. To remove things from my life that shouldn't be there. To search me, even while I sleep. We should attempt to live as if there is no evil found in us. I should do as David says in verse 3 and purpose that my mouth will pure in God's eyes.

Verse 5 - See how important it is that we know God's word and the right choices? The words of God's lips can keep us from following the path of the destroyer - of wicked people. God will hold my hand along in this life. I don't want to slip on the path of life. The truth is, though, I will. But as I trip, and begin to slide, God will grab me and hoist me back up. On a real path, if you slip on mud by yourself, you fall and bust your bottom! But if you're holding on to someone they can tighten their grip on you to keep you from slipping. That is our God!!

God wants me to call on Him. When I do, He will hear me and incline His ear to me. When we trust in God and have people rising up against us He will save us. He will show how marvelous He is and how amazing His love for us is.

Psalm 17:8 - Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.

I have memorized that scripture because I helped Brianna memorize it and now it's forever in my mind (I hope!). I love it because it's a promise of comfort and love.

Keep me close to you, God, when my enemies surround me and I feel closed in. Their hearts are hard and closed up and yet they speak so boldly and so proudly. They remind David of a lion, hungry and stalking it's prey, surrounding it and licking it's lips, ready to pounce.

But David calls on God to ARISE.

Confront my enemy. Cast him down. Deliver me from this situation.

So many people in this life are content with life as it is. But that is going to be it for them. This life is the best they will ever see, and that is so sad.

But "as for me" (verse 15), the day I day is the beginning of my new life. When I can look at God and all His righteousness... when I awake in heaven - in God's presence - in His likeness - that will be the satisfaction for us as Christians. Not this life here on earth.

Comments? Questions?

Psalm 54

Today's scripture is Psalm 54. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.
² Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
³ For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
⁴ Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
⁵ He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
⁶ I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good.
⁷ For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.

This psalm was written while Saul was chasing David. Read 1 Samuel 23 for that background story.

Verse 1 - God will save me when I am in need, like David said. He knew to call out to God, whose name and strength is much greater than ours. He is so awesome and knowledgeable that we should want to be judged by Him. We know it will be a fair and honest judgment and will make us better.

Verse 2 - As we read so often in scripture, God will hear my prayer and give ear to my words when I pray to Him.

Verse 3 - Strangers even are against David. They don't even know him but they've made it their personal business to attack him.

Verses 4-5 - David knew God was on his side. His "helper". God is on the side of righteous people, but those who are against Him will be rewarded with evil. They are on the path of destruction.

Verse 6 - I will freely sacrifice to God as I praise Him. This is not something forced. I know how good God is and therefore out of that comes praise. Freely.

Verse 7 - I can see throughout my life that God is my deliverer and His desire for my enemies is not success in beating me down.


Comments? Questions?

Psalm 14 AND Psalm 53

Today I am looking at Psalm 14 and Psalm 53. Go here to read Psalm 14 in your preferred version, and go here to read Psalm 53 in your preferred version.

Psalm 14
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
² The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
³ They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
⁴ Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.
⁵ There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.
⁶ Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge.
⁷ Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Psalm 53
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
² God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
³ Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
⁴ Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.
⁵ There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
⁶ Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

I'm sure you can see why I am doing both of these psalms on the same day. They are extremely similar, although there are slight differences.

Psalm 14+53 Verse 1 - The fool has said in his heart there is no God. A foolish person will not have thoughts of God at all when making decisions.

Psalm 10:4 - "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts." 

Some characteristics of the godless:  (all found in the first verse of both these psalms)

• Foolish
• Corrupt
• Abominable
• None do good  

Psalm 14+53 Verse 2 - God is always looking for people of righteousness to be leaders. We should be seeking God actively and trying to understand God's ways.

Psalm 14+53 Verse 3 - So many people do what is described in these verses - "gone aside", "gone back" (turned aside), become "filthy", none do good.

Psalm 14+53 Verse 4 - They do not call upon God. They just feast on others. That is what sustains them.

Psalm 14, Verse 5 - One day fools will fear God. He is the God of the righteous. That will be apparent one day.

Psalm 14 Verse 6 - The Lord is our refuge - a shelter for the poor in spirit.

Psalm 53:5 - One day they will have a spirit of fear. God will not always turn a blind eye to those who oppose Him.

Psalm 14:7; 53:6 - God is our salvation. One day in God's time we will all truly be free. Then we will rejoice and be glad and be full of praise!

Comments? Questions? 

Psalm 13

Today's scripture is Psalm 13. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
² How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
³ Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
⁴ Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
⁵ But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
⁶ I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Verse 1 - Wow. How often we feel like this! A pity party! Do we really think God has forgotten us?

Psalm 10:12 - "Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble." - God won't forget those who humble themselves

Isaiah 44:21 - "Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me."  

We ask God how long He's going to hide from us when in fact, in Jeremiah 33:3 God tells us if we will call out to Him, He will answer us and show us great and mighty things! He is not hidden from us, we are not seeking Him!

Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

Verse 2 - How long shall I take counsel in my soul? My soul? My sinful, broken soul?? My soul gives no counsel. Exodus 18:19 says if we listen to God, He will give us counsel! He will be with us! Psalm 1:1 tells us not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly and that certainly includes myself.

Exodus 18:19 - "Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee"

Psalm 1:1 - "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." 

Verse 3 - Finally - a cry to God for help. Scripture tells us many times if we will cry out to God He will hear us and consider us. Asking God to open our eyes is significant. We are so blind without Him. In Ephesians 4:18 we read that alienation from God is due to blindness in our hearts. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 we see that blindness is caused by Satan, so blindness is exactly the opposite of what God wants for us.

Ephesians 4:18 - "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:"

2 Corinthians 4:4 - "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 

We must continue to trust in God's mercies.

Psalm 136:1 - "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."  

Lamentations 3:22-23 - "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

My heart will rejoice in salvation. Don't ever forget that! I will sing to God and praise Him for all He has done for me!

Bountiful Blessings! Gotta remember that. We have so many things to praise God about.

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I have a story which I think is very cool about this. Back in July, Stephen and I went to a church camp with our youth group called Camp Anchorage. All week long I heard several speakers saying repeatedly, "God's mercies are new every morning!" They never gave a scripture reference but I didn't think much about it. But then during my devotions I kept coming across scriptures of God's mercy. It got me wondering where that scripture in the Bible was about new mercies every day. Well, I looked all through my Bible and couldn't find anything. So I went to the front porch, which was the hangout between sessions. A guy, Anthony, was out there and I was going to ask him, but he was involved in a lengthy conversation with another sponsor. I decided to wait it out. I regretted it when they kept talking and talking! Finally after about ten minutes, they finished up and I jumped at the chance to ask Anthony if he knew where this scripture was. Funny thing was, as soon as I had gotten out the question and he started to say, "I don't kno....." another man was walking up the steps and just as clear as day said, "That's Lamentations chapter 3. I just read that a couple of days ago."

I was super excited! Not just to find the scripture, but because I felt like God had just stepped into my conversation!

Now you might say I was lucky that he was walking by, because I was going crazy trying to find this scripture. I don't think I was lucky. I think God had those two men continue their conversation until Mike was going to be walking up the steps and could hear my question. I'll never forget that because it just showed me how much God loves me - that He is in all the small stuff in my life. That He wants to do small things like that for me to show me how much He cares. If you don't think God cares about things like that in our lives, I truly believe you are sadly mistaken.

Comments? Questions?