Is he Leading? (Psalm 131, 133, 138-141, 143) – May 15

Psalm 131 “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul.”  This is a practice we should all learn to develop in our lives.  It is in our quiet and calm times that we can hear the voice of God.  Personally,. I have been too busy with distractions lately to listen to Him carefully.  That needs to change in my life.  My writing, especially poetry, has al;l but ceased because I have my ear to other things.  Things that fill my time with nonsense and steer me away from His voice.  I have a deep desire to write more,. and to do that, I need to take the counsel of this verse.

Psalm 133 “”It is like the precious oil upon the head” for brothers to dwell in unity.  When the disciples and those with them were all of one mind and one spirit, the Holy Ghost came upon them in the upper room on nPentecost.  Wouldn;lt we all love to have that happen in our churches?  Unity is the key to revival.

Psalm 138 “You have magnified your word abo-ve all your name.”  To those churches who have excellent times of worship[ and who lift up the name of the Lord higher and higher, but do not follow His word, take heed to this verse.  To God, worship is nothing if we do not follow His word.  His entire word.  Yes, Jesus taught love, and God is love, but the sinner must leave their sin behind in order to truly please God.  Jesus accepts the sinner, but then He says “go and sin no more.”  His word is more important to Him than our worship.

Psalm 139 “You formed my inward parts”  This is my favorite Psalm, and I could write columns about this wonderful chapter.  Today, I will try to be brief. Verse 13 in the KJV says “You have possessed my reins.”  I love the way that is translated.  IUt gives the picture of a person riding a horse.  Most of the control of the horse comes from holding the reins.  Steering, speed and stopping are all in the reins.  I have studied this out, and, although I am no equestrian (far from it), I learned from the one time I rode a horse that the reins are necessary.  For God to possess my reins means that He gives me my direction. He tells me when to turn, when to speed up and when to stop.  I want God to have this kind of control in my life.  I want Him to possess my reins.  If I do not, then Psalm 23 (which is a favorite of most) means nothing to me. He cannot lead me to green pastures, or beside still waters, without holding my reins.  Lord, take the reins in my life!

Psalm 140 “I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted.”  I have seen this over and over again in my own life, and in the life of others. He is at their side, ever caring for them. He may not remove their affliction, but He will always walk through it with them, and will bring good out of anything we face.  This is a matter of trusting in the Lord, and of knowing that He will work all things out for our good.

Psalm 141 “Keep watch over the door of my lips.”  I want to say the right things and have fun in life.  But too often my words are mingled with my own self-indulgence and they come out wrong.  They hurt the one who hears them instead of being something to laugh about.  I need to pray this little prayer every day, because it is my words that will help people see Jesus in me!  Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips.

Psalm 143 “Cause me to know the way in which I should walk.”  I  sometimes make the decision to walk the wrong way.  This is happening less and less freu=quently, but it still happens.    To cause someone to do something means that I am being steered toward that task.  We often think of this as a bad thing. We cause accidents, we cause people to stumble, we cause calamity.  But God can cause us to walk in the Light, and to do good as well.  Let His mercy and grace be the things he causes us to do!

This is one of those days I wish we were just doing one Psalm at a time, and we had hours to discuss it.  Psalm 139 is so rich and full of direction and advice for our lives.  While the others have great words as well, Psalm 139 gives us direction into the workings of God in our lives.  May we stay in this Psalm forever!  “Lord, search me and know me

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.