Psalm 67:3 "May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you."
We should all be praising God! Take some time and think about all the wonderful characteristics of God and praise him for them. Praise him for all the great things he has done for you. Remember James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Praise God because he is worthy of our praise!
Bryan
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Psalm 66
One of the hardest issues to deal with in the Christian life is being refined. None of us really enjoy a good trial or tribulation - especially while in the midst of it. Enjoying the refinement process is not the goal, but we often dislike it so much that we don't even want to experience any rough waters. We want a life without confrontation and struggle. The cool thing is that as Christians we will one day have this life in heaven. There will no longer be an internal conflict (as Vader would say) between our flesh and our spirit. But until then we must continue to be refined in our faith in Christ. Often the most spiritual growth comes from times of refinement. We also must realize that this is a part of the way God sanctifies us. We know that He will not give us more than we can handle (1 Cor. 10:13) and that it is for our good. I want to be able to thank God for His refining process as does the psalmist in vs. 10-12
"For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance."
I think its neat how the psalmist understand that it is God who has allowed them to go through each situation in mind. He understands that it is God who is in control of their lives including the "trials by fire." And even cooler is the fact that this brings about a sense of trust and dependency on God because He brought them out of hostility in to a place of abundance. God has a plan for our lives. Do you believe that? It's very easy to look at how God is working in the lives of others and miss what He is doing in yours. God does so many things in each of our lives that I think we constantly and consistently overlook. May God open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. He will bring us "out to a place of abundance" if we are faithful and persevere.
Ray
"For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance."
I think its neat how the psalmist understand that it is God who has allowed them to go through each situation in mind. He understands that it is God who is in control of their lives including the "trials by fire." And even cooler is the fact that this brings about a sense of trust and dependency on God because He brought them out of hostility in to a place of abundance. God has a plan for our lives. Do you believe that? It's very easy to look at how God is working in the lives of others and miss what He is doing in yours. God does so many things in each of our lives that I think we constantly and consistently overlook. May God open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. He will bring us "out to a place of abundance" if we are faithful and persevere.
Ray
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Psalm 64: God Is Watching and He Will Act
(Matt, here's the what I managed to salvage from your "lost post". Only because I'm a computer genius, I was able to dig this up! ;) Feel free to finish what you were saying... - Robert)
Have you ever sat and thought about the wicked people of this world and said, "Is God going to do something about this?" This psalm lets us into the mind of an inspired writer and answers that question for us. Perhaps some of you (the nerds) have read the book "Congo" about the "myth" of the silver-back gorillas that protected this lost treasure in some jungle. Others of you (the cool people) just saw the movie. Well if you remember the movie the people attempting to find the lost treasure did not really believe in the gorilla myth thinking it was a hoax made up by the natives to keep outsiders away from the treasure. Well they were dead (just enjoy the pun) wrong. Just before entering this hidden city where the treasure was supposed to be, one of the translators translated some writings that were carved into the wall which said, "We are watching you!" I remember having chills during that scene.
The evil people of this world are very similar to the people looking for this lost treasure. They think this whole God, judgment thing is just a silly myth. vs. 5 says, "they hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, who can see them?" They are also wrong. God sees them. God is watching very closely because he knows "the inward heart and mind of a man are deep." Do you remember what the gorillas did to kill people in that story? I wont go into it but God shoots His arrows at these wicked people and brings their lives to ruin....(technical problems caused the middle part of the post to be lost)
This psalm is all about David's reflection on the judgment of the wicked who think God does not see them in what they are doing. My first inclination in reading this was "yeah God, Get those wicked people." After reading it twice I thought to myself, "wow I am pretty wicked myself. We should be careful because I don't think we should boast that the wicked receive punishment, because, it is God who judges some and not others based upon their response to Christ. It is all a matter of grace that God gives some wicked people and not all wicked people. So be careful. However, This psalm is reflecting on how the wicked live thinking that God does not see them when in reality God sees them very well.
Don't live like God doesn't see you.
Matt
Have you ever sat and thought about the wicked people of this world and said, "Is God going to do something about this?" This psalm lets us into the mind of an inspired writer and answers that question for us. Perhaps some of you (the nerds) have read the book "Congo" about the "myth" of the silver-back gorillas that protected this lost treasure in some jungle. Others of you (the cool people) just saw the movie. Well if you remember the movie the people attempting to find the lost treasure did not really believe in the gorilla myth thinking it was a hoax made up by the natives to keep outsiders away from the treasure. Well they were dead (just enjoy the pun) wrong. Just before entering this hidden city where the treasure was supposed to be, one of the translators translated some writings that were carved into the wall which said, "We are watching you!" I remember having chills during that scene.
The evil people of this world are very similar to the people looking for this lost treasure. They think this whole God, judgment thing is just a silly myth. vs. 5 says, "they hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, who can see them?" They are also wrong. God sees them. God is watching very closely because he knows "the inward heart and mind of a man are deep." Do you remember what the gorillas did to kill people in that story? I wont go into it but God shoots His arrows at these wicked people and brings their lives to ruin....(technical problems caused the middle part of the post to be lost)
This psalm is all about David's reflection on the judgment of the wicked who think God does not see them in what they are doing. My first inclination in reading this was "yeah God, Get those wicked people." After reading it twice I thought to myself, "wow I am pretty wicked myself. We should be careful because I don't think we should boast that the wicked receive punishment, because, it is God who judges some and not others based upon their response to Christ. It is all a matter of grace that God gives some wicked people and not all wicked people. So be careful. However, This psalm is reflecting on how the wicked live thinking that God does not see them when in reality God sees them very well.
Don't live like God doesn't see you.
Matt
Monday, March 3, 2008
Psalm 63
"Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You." ~ Psalm 63:3
This expression of faith and worship is one of the most beautiful verses in all the Bible. Really, what is life outside of God's lovingkindness? Emptiness...worthlessness...hopelessness. God's lovingkindness is the definition of real Life!
If I truly believe God's lovingkindness is better than my life, then what affects should that have in my daily actions? What I spend my time, what I think about, what I do, what I desire, what I spend my money on, and what I work for...these are all reflections of what I truly worship. Every single human being is a worshipper! The question is whom do we worship?
David in this psalm is worshipping God for His lovingkindness. Unfortunately, I often find myself worshipping other idols in my heart. I find things in my life which I seemingly consider better than God's lovingkindness. I devote myself to them with my time, money, and actions. Such sinfulness is incompatible with the worship of God. I must turn my eyes from such idols, have my mind renenewed by the Word, and proclaim the supreme value of God's lovingkindness.
The question today for you is not, "Are you a worshipper?" But rather, "Who are you worshipping today?" Is your life on the throne of your heart or is God's lovingkindness on the throne?
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
This expression of faith and worship is one of the most beautiful verses in all the Bible. Really, what is life outside of God's lovingkindness? Emptiness...worthlessness...hopelessness. God's lovingkindness is the definition of real Life!
If I truly believe God's lovingkindness is better than my life, then what affects should that have in my daily actions? What I spend my time, what I think about, what I do, what I desire, what I spend my money on, and what I work for...these are all reflections of what I truly worship. Every single human being is a worshipper! The question is whom do we worship?
David in this psalm is worshipping God for His lovingkindness. Unfortunately, I often find myself worshipping other idols in my heart. I find things in my life which I seemingly consider better than God's lovingkindness. I devote myself to them with my time, money, and actions. Such sinfulness is incompatible with the worship of God. I must turn my eyes from such idols, have my mind renenewed by the Word, and proclaim the supreme value of God's lovingkindness.
The question today for you is not, "Are you a worshipper?" But rather, "Who are you worshipping today?" Is your life on the throne of your heart or is God's lovingkindness on the throne?
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Psalm 62
(We are sad, sad people. Sorry this is five days late. And it's going to be short.)
I love Psalm 62, and I particularly love this one particular verse, so that's where I am going to spend my time today.
Psalm 62:11-12a says, "One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O LORD, are loving."
I have struggled throughout my life with trusting what I know about God. I have been disappointed a lot in my life - through my own circumstances, although I tend to, in my immaturity, blame it on God. And several years ago, I just felt lost. And then I found this verse. And it is so powerful, and so special, and sometimes I read it and think, "What exactly does this say?" And then I remember, and I get it again, and I realize that what I know about God is exactly true.
God is strong. He is powerful, and he is mighty, and he is steady and sturdy and all those things you think of when you think of strong. He doesn't waver, and he doesn't change his mind about us. The Lord is loving. As a master, God is compassionate, and loving, and patient, and tender, and all those things that we need and don't even realize we need.
God never changes. I know that we hear that a lot - and I think we need to hear it a lot because we as humans are constantly changing, shifting beings. We are kind of the exact opposite of God in our character - we having nothing innate in us that is strong or loving, if we are given over to our sinful natures. Thank God we are not! Thank God he remains the same, despite the obscene number of times we have to remind ourselves that he remains the same!
It is because of God's unshifting, strong, and loving character that we can really claim the first two verses of this Psalm: "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." God is a fortress. He's strong and safe. He's a peaceful place of rest. And that's all because he is loving and strong.
Praise God for his perfect character!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Psalm 61: The Higher Rock
Let say (hypothetically) that you haven't read The Word for a few days/weeks and finally you're beginning to take the time to give serious and careful thought for a bit. Lets also say you're in desperate need of water to your soul. You're desperate to meet with God, to hear from God, or to be restored, refreshed, renewed...encouraged. Maybe desperately asking God to give you a sign that He exists and that you're somewhere on his radar screen. The truth is that God wants to speak into your life right now. He wants to touch you, send His water your soul, and refresh the in most parts of you. So maybe as you begin to read today you could just ask Him for that (really at anytime, not just when beginning to read The Word).
I read the King James Version of this Psalm just to break the monotony of the Psalms in the NIV and I was reminded of that old praise song, "Better is One Day". Man, that song is The Word of God by the way, in case you were wondering. Although it mostly derives from Psalm 84, the song basically says: anybody that comes thirsty and hungry for God, He's going to satisfy! I know there's a lot of hunger in our world (mainly referring to everyone), but I don't know if we've figured out that its for Him!
If there's anywhere else we've been today or this week in our lives to try to satisfy whats deep inside of us, it's not gonna work. "He's" not gonna work, "she's" gonna work, "the job's" not gonna work, "the stuff's" not gonna work; there's a hunger deep inside of us that's made for God. And He's fills that place like crazy when we turn to Him and trust in Him and ask Him to do what only He can do.
Perhaps what we can gather from this whole Psalms blog is simply that...think about it...
Bob
I read the King James Version of this Psalm just to break the monotony of the Psalms in the NIV and I was reminded of that old praise song, "Better is One Day". Man, that song is The Word of God by the way, in case you were wondering. Although it mostly derives from Psalm 84, the song basically says: anybody that comes thirsty and hungry for God, He's going to satisfy! I know there's a lot of hunger in our world (mainly referring to everyone), but I don't know if we've figured out that its for Him!
If there's anywhere else we've been today or this week in our lives to try to satisfy whats deep inside of us, it's not gonna work. "He's" not gonna work, "she's" gonna work, "the job's" not gonna work, "the stuff's" not gonna work; there's a hunger deep inside of us that's made for God. And He's fills that place like crazy when we turn to Him and trust in Him and ask Him to do what only He can do.
Perhaps what we can gather from this whole Psalms blog is simply that...think about it...
"...when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I."Much Love,- Psalm 61: 2 (KJV)
Bob
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