God’s Benefit Package

Psalm 103  “Forget not all His benefits”  I have always called this Psalm “God’s benefit package”.,  Much like we receive benefits from an employer, we also receive benefits when we make Jesus our Lord and Savior.  But these benefits are so much more than anything this world can offer.  Forgiveness of sin, heal all disease, redeems us from destruction, crowns us with loving kindness and mercy,, satisfies me with good things, and renews my youth.  No benefit package I receive anywhere else can compare/

Psalm 108 “Through God we shall do valiantly.”  Another benefit of serving God.  We will be able to overcome things we never thought possible through our God.  He will tread down our enemies as we follow His lead.  He has to be in front of us to tread down those who would come at us.  Much like a shepherd leads his flock into safety, God will lead us into His place of refuge, where no enemy can stand.

Psalm 109 “save me according to your mercy.” There is nothing I have done to deserve this benefit package He has bestowed on me.  It is only by His mercy that these things become true in my life.  He saves me because He is merciful, not because I have done anything good.  I am so grateful that I did not, nor ever will have to, earn His salvation!  I would never be able to attain it on my own, but through His mercy, it is a free gift!

Psalm 110 ” “Till I make your enemies your footstool.”  I use a footstool to rest my feet after a weary day.  It is a place of comfort and peace.  In my case (as in most these days), my fo\otstoll is part of my chair.  I recline and put that foo\tstool up so that I can relax.  This is what happens with my enemies.  They are no longer a threat to me, but I can put my feet up and find comfort and peace even when they are right there in the room with me.

Psalm 122 “I was glad when they said to me let us go into the house of the Lord.” When I was battling cancer, I could not be in church,  and the thing I missed most was the corporate worship in the house of the Lord.  I could sit at home and listen to great sermons, and enjoy wonderful worship music, but nothing can replace being in the house of the Lord and hearing the voices of the saints lifting up the name of Jesus.  I was so glad when I could finally go back to church again!

Psalm 124 “The snare is broken and we are escaped.”  A broken snare is worthless.  It will no longer be effective in catching the prey it was intended for.  WSe sell animal trap cages at the store I work at.  Someone came in the other day and needed a new cage because the door was broken on the one they had.  The  animal might get inside, but wouldn’t be trapped in there. He could easily walk out again.  This is what Jesus has done for us.  The trao, is broken, and even if we do get entangled in it again, we can easily walk right back out.  Of course God would rather we stay away from the trap altogether, and that should be our goal.

Today’s readings are all about the many benefits God has placed into our lives because we have asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior.  These benefits do not cost us anything, but they are priceless.  You cannot purchase them in a store, or acquire them by any other means.  Only God can grant them to us, and He does so freely!

Blessings for Today (Psalms 68-70, 86, 101) May 13

Psalm 68 ‘Blessed be God, who daily loads us with benefits.”  The people around me always want to talk about the3 things that are going wrong in this world, or in their lives.  It’s easy for me to join in with this banter, even though I know that God sends His blessings every day.  His mercy=ies are new every morning.  May I be the one to shift the conversation to the goodness of God, and the blessings of life.

Psalm 69 “Let your salvation, Oh God, set me on high.”  I don’t want riches, or fame, or power to set me on high.  I only want to be set in a high place by God, that others may give God glory for the things I may do, and not vibe any glory to me.

Psalm 70 “You are my help and my deliverer.”  I cannot deliver myself.  I need help daily to stay free from the enemy’s wiles.  God is the one who can deliver me, and desires to deliver me.  I just need to give it to Him and stop fighting the battle all alone.

Psalm 86 “Teach me your ways, Oh Lord:  I will walk in your truth”  Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would come and lead us into all truth.  I need to be led, like a sheep needs to be led.  I too easily wander away from the truth God wants me to learn, and start to walk in my own world of truth.  His truth stands above all else, and we can depend on it day in and day out.  It does not shift like sand, but stands, immovable, like a rock.

Psalm 101 “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes.”  This had been my downfall for too long.  I set things before my eyes that are not pleasing to God, and it brings me down into a pit of despair.  It is not my enemy, but me who walks into this trap.  I open my eyes to things I shouldn’t be seeing.  I need to turn away,  and not go there with my gaze.  May holiness and purity be all I see.

Today’s reading is about gaining victory in the daily blessings God brings my way.  If I will just recognize these blessings when they come, and walk in them each day, he will bring deliverance in evr=ery area of my life, and be my guide to walk in His truth.

Will God Hear me? (Psalms 61-67) – May 12

Psalm 61  “”Lead me to the rock that is higher than I”  For most of my life, I thought I stood on stable ground.  I was my own rock.  But I learned that there is only one rock worthy of standing on, only one that could uphold me in any battle.  That is the Lord, the Rock of my Salvation, the chief cornerstone. He is the Rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 62 “also to you, Oh Lord, belongs mercy, for you render to each according to his work.:”  There are those who say works are not important.  It is faith alone that we need.  But if we want mercy from the Lord throughout our walk, this verse tells us. There must be works that coincide with our faith.

Psalm 64 “Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked ” I don’t always know when or where an attack might come from.  It could be gossip, or unfounded allegations, or even a temptation to fall back to my sinful ways.  Whatever it is, God can hide me from those plots to bring me down.

Psalm 65 “You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves.”  I regularly need a dose of calmness in my life.  Jesus can still the waves of worry, fear, doubt, sorrow, and so many other things.  He can bring peace even in the strongest of storms, because He is the one who stills the waves.

Psalm 66 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”  The word regard is translated see in most places throughout the old testament.  it is a common word, and tells us that if we see sin in our heart, our prayers may go unheard.  That flies against those who quote the popular verses that say God will hear us all the time.  We should not ignore this verse.  How many of my prayers have gone unanswered because of sin in my heart?  I don’t know, but my desire is that all my prayers get answered.  For that to happen, I need to look away from iniquity when it tries to enter my heart.

Psalm 67 “Then the ends of the earth will yield her increase.”  The secret is out!  The land will bring increase when we praise the Lord.  That is it.  The fruit of our lips will bring the fruit of the Land.  Let us praise Him continually,. that our barns wil, be full!

Today’s Psalms bring us face to face with who we are, adn who God is.  The npower is in His hands, and He can bring about our increase and our peace even in the midst of struggles.  if we will train our minds on Him, he will protect us.

Integrity (Psalm 39-41, 53,55 & 58) – May 11

Psalm 39 “I will guard my ways lest I sin with my tongue”  This Psalm is one of remorse over the frailty of life.  It almost sounds like Ecclesisates as it delves into what the meaning of life is.  But this line has a lot to do with our legacy on thi0s earth.  My wordfsd are deadly, unlike the old stick s and stones rhyme.  I can do more damage to a person’s life with my words, especially a child, than with weapons of war.  I pray my words are always filled with grace.

Psalm 40  The first line is “I waited patiently for the Lord”, the last line is “Dp not delay, Oh Lord.”  Do I wait patiently for God to answer my prayers? or do I demand that He honor His word right now.  There is no verse in the Bible that says if we pray, God will heal us immediately.  it just says he will hear us and answer.  Time is never mentioned.  We must learn to wait patiently!

Psalm 41 “You uphold me in my integrity”  I have not always displayed the type of integrity that would please God.  Integrity is the opposite of hypocrisy, which is what I too often live in.  My life needs to be a reflection of what I believe.  I am walking ijn integrity right now.  I pray I can continue!.

Psalm 53  “:The fool has said in His heart there is no God”  Why argue with an atheist?  He is a fool, according to the word.  Arguing with a fool is useless because they are not thinking logically.  How, in any sense of logic, could this earth, and this universe, exist without a creator?  That is the one true question that the atheist can’t answer.

Psalm 55  “Cast your burden on the :Lord and He will sustain you”  These are so similar to the words of Jesus when he tells all the weak and heavy laden to come unto Him.  David shows how much he knows the heart of God with these simple words.  God will sustain us under any burden if we will just give it to Him.

Psalm 58 “Surely there is a reward for the righteous”  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled!  Shall be, not might be or could be.  This means it will happen.  May we always hunger and thirst for righteousness, because there is a reward to those who do.

Today’s reading has to do with integrity.  Am I living a life that allows God to be God? and me to be me?  I certainly can do better in this category.  Walking in righto-eousness, giving my burdens to God, waiting patiently – these are all signs that integrity has gripped my heart.

How Long, Lord? (Psalms 35-38) – May 10

Psalm 35  “Lord, how long will you look on”  Is this not a question we ask often?  How long, Lord, musty I wait for healing”  How long will our country’s morality slip[”  How long will our schools teach our children perverse things”  How long, Lord?  He is the one who determines the timetable.  Our prayers can help, but ultimately it is in His hands, and all we can do is trust His timing.

Psalm 36 “in your light we see light”  This really caught my eye this morning.  It is only in God  that we can truly see what is good and what is evil.  His light shines on the darkness and exposes it,  Those who are not walking in His light cannot recognize good and evil as God sees it.  Only in His light can we see light.

Psalm 37 “But the salvation of the righteous ius from the Lord.  He is their strength in times of trouble.”  When we have been saved, He leads us into rit=ghteousness.  And because He leads us on the right path, He becomes our strength to endure all trials and tests.  We don’t have to fight those battles alone.  He does not take away the battles, but he does give us the strength to fight and be victorious.

Psalm 38 “Nor any health in my bones because of my sin”  We should take note here that sickness can arise out of our sinful practices.  It is not always the enemy that brings hurt, sickness and pain.   Sometimes it is our own sin that will bring disease, pain and hurt.  This is just one more reason to eradicate as many of our sinful ways as possible.

Today’s readings are a story of struggle with sin.  This is our plight,  Sin is always knocking at the door, and we must do all we can to keep it out.  Jesus is also knocking at the door, and we must decide daily who to let in.  This takes a daily dose of light from His word.  If we walk without the word in our minds constantly, we will allow sin to take hold.  Then we will be the ones asking “How long, Lord?”