Psalm 18:30–This God

Psalm 18:30–"This God–His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him."

This God.

He is holy and totally unlike any other proposed god–He is eternal.  His Word proves true. It is because of this, that God actually is who He claims to be, that He is so deserving of our utmost worship.  The reason He is to be our shield is because He can.  He has it within Him the power to still the storms, to slow the winds, and calm the seas.

Praise be to Him.

Praise be to this God!

Psalm 138:8–The Lord Will Fulfill

Psalm 138:8–"The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands."

This is an honest prayer, a sincere prayer.  It is a prayer that I hold to and that all should.  But while it is a nice sentiment to hold, it is another thing entirely to live our lives dependent upon the faithfulness of God, resting our confidence in the assurance that He fulfills His purposes.  But that is what this verse is all about: living a life of obedient trust in the faithfulness of God to fulfill His promises.

As we embark on another week of life in this crazy world, let us take some time to ascent to the promises God has made to us, and to actively trust that He will fulfill them.

Psalm 91:1–"Abiding in the Shadow of the Almighty

Psalm 91:1–"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."

The nature of this verse is a two part phrase: those who dwell will abide.  While it may seem like this is an obvious connection, let us not let the density of it pass us by without consideration.  The real question is this: what part do we play in dwelling in God's shelter?

From a Christian perspective, the shelter of the Most High is the crucified flesh of Christ.  Therefore, dwelling in His shelter means, quite plainly, that we would live our lives within the body of Christ, washed by the blood of Christ, and founded solely under the canopy of God's grace in Christ.  This demand an active participation on our part.  But through this we are given a promise: we will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  Consider that when we are asking ourselves whether living in Christ is worth it...

Psalm 56:4–In God I Trust

Psalm 56:4–"In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid."

Fear is a real, very human thing that every person experiences.  It could be the fear of paying the bills, or the anxiety of relationships, whatever the fears may be we all deal with them.  Sometimes fear can be so overwhelming that it feels asphyxiating.  It is at these times, though, when all of life seems to fall like a great dark cloud over our lives that we should remember and apply the words of this verse.

I shall not be afraid.

Why?

Because my trust is in God and His word.

Amen.

Psalm 103:17-18–The Lord Loves Those Who Keep His Covenant

Psalm 103:17-18–"But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to those who keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments."

There is a severe tendency when reading this passage (and the multitude of verses like it) to read the lovely part at the beginning while neglecting the latter conditional components.  But in truth it is the contingent aspect of this passage that makes it so important.

At the onset, one thing must be asserted: God loves everyone.  This is unambiguous and, quite frankly, irrevocable.

Now that that's out of the way we get to the hard part: God's love is not equal.  While this may seem provocative it flows from relational definitions.

Some people know God as their Father just as He knows them as His children.  These people, the people of the Covenant of Christ, are–in a quite literal way–His.  This means, among a who litany of things, that the people who He has deemed to call His, who He has called to live covenantally, God loves them, for lack of a better term, differently than everyone else.

It is this 'difference' that warrants the entirety of the aforementioned passage.  The people of God, who are called to live according to His covenant, have commandments to fulfill.  It is upon the satisfaction of these commandments that righteousness is received, just as it is upon our fear of Him that His love is applied steadfast.

Much, much more could be said but suffice to say this passage is anything but easy to stomach while it remains rather straightforward: fear God and keep His covenant.

Psalm 139:13-14–Praise The Lord For Making Us!

Psalm 139:13-14–"For you formed my inward part; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

This passage has special meaning to me right now.  At this very moment, my wife is pregnant with our first child.  It is no small comfort to know that God is doing all the work in my wife's womb, knitting together our unborn child.  How wonderful it is to know that God is, even now, making our child to be and become the person God intends our baby to be.

Amen!  Hallelujah to the King who forms our inward parts even before we are born!

Psalm 100:3–The Lord Is God

Psalm 100:3–"Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture."

Basically everything we need to know about God and our relationship to Him is delivered in this verse. If we could only come to God with this understanding, that He is God and we are His, I am certain that profound transformation could have its effect in us.  The soil the Holy Spirit needs in order to grow His fruit is a penitent heart that comes to His throne with the right posture of praise and humility.

Let us then take this verse as a prayer, a sincere offering of worship to our King.  In this way we will ensure a right perspective as we come to Him in praise and adoration.

Psalm 62:7–On God Rests My Salvation

Psalm 62:7–"On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God."

There is perhaps nothing more profoundly comforting and liberating than realizing that my salvation does not in anyway rest upon my own strength, my own guile, my own will, or even my own best intentions.  It is sweet serenity that salvation is dependent upon Christ and Christ alone.  There could be nothing more freeing than to recognize that salvation rests on God alone.  He is the Refuge, the mighty Rock of salvation, and the sole source of freedom, relief, and glory.  We should not forget this, not only that but we should let this ground our very lives.

Psalm 23:1–The Lord is My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1–"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

The reality of this verse is that it speaks so dimply about theology so profound.  So much of Scripture presents this very relationship, that of the shepherd and the sheep.  The point of defining the relationship that the Lord has with His people this way is that it sheds significant light into how well God knows us and the way that He cares for us.  It is a beautiful thing to remember that God so loves us as a shepherd loves his sheep; He protects us from predators as a shepherd; He leads us to green pastures and cool, still waters as a shepherd leads his sheep.  Because of all this, we should not forget who He is and who we are before Him.  And praise the Lord, the good Shepherd!

Psalm 100:4–Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving

Psalm 100:4–"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!  Give thanks to Him; bless His name!"

I love this verse.  It speaks of what God desires of us as well as what He requires for us to enter His courts.  Thanksgiving and praise, praise and thanksgiving; this is what God desires from us when we come into His presence.  This is all about ascribing to the Lord what is His due and coming to Him in humility and in faith, recognizing who He is and praising Him rightly!

Let us then strive to come to Him in this way, entering His gates with thanksgiving and praise!

Psalm 139:23-24–Search Me, O God!

Psalm 139:23-24–"Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way of understanding!

Like so many of the psalms, this one is a prayer.  It is a heartfelt, honest exclamation to the Lord.  How many of us have every felt confident enough to ask God to search our hearts, to know our thoughts? But this is the kind of vulnerability, the kind of openness that God desires from us.  The Lord wants us to give Him our depths, to open up the deepest parts of ourselves to Him.  That's what this psalm is all about.  We should strive to make this our prayer too as we seek to open our hearts and our minds to the Holy Lord in complete submission and devotion!

Psalm 33:4-5–Declaring the Praise of the Lord

Psalm 33:4-5–"For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness.  He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord."

What a beautiful testament to the great awesomeness of God!  But what stands out is that this beautiful phrase comes after the psalmist exhorts us to "Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!"  The point is that this statement is a not merely built upon the truths therein.  Rather, this testimony to the Lord flows out of the assumption that we will shout it!  In other words, the very essence of this verse is dependent upon the fact that it is an utterance of praise, a declaration of worship, an exclamation of His amazing awesomeness.  We would do well to keep in my the command to declare who He is just as quickly as we understand who He is.  Recognizing His nature is penultimate to exclaiming it.

Psalm 59:16–Praise With Weight

Psalm 59:16–"But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning. For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress."

Life is hard.  There is just no doubt about it.  Full of dramatic highs and lows, it is a roller coaster ride that pushes us to the very bounds of vertigo and can leave us seasick just as easily as it can build our confidence.  Even though we are so prone to ebb and flow, the one sure thing is that this life will undulate and the waves of sweet, bowing highs will be paired with despairing distress and emptiness.  The point is that throughout all of these times, though they may feel so very unstable and insecure, there is a sure Rock, a certain fixed point of Stability to whom we may always look to for safety and refuge.  No one, no where but God Himself.  That is it.  There is no where else to turn.

It is at this point of recognition that the psalmist utters: "But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning. For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress."

O that we would realize this too!

Psalm 86:5–God is Good & Forgiving

Psalm 86:5–"For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You."

There is a stigma attached to Christianity that would caricature the teaching of Scripture.  This misconception reduce the whole of Christian theology to its conception of sin, rendering the human as nothing more than hopeless and helpless under the weight of sin.  And while this is a true sentiment that lies at the very heart of the Christian message, it wholeheartedly neglects the weightier portion of the gospel, it ignores the Good News.

This verse represents the breadth of the good news, that God is forgiving and loving to those who call upon His name in humility and faith.  What an amazing truth to behold!  Let us never neglect it.

Psalm 30:4–Sing Praises

Psalm 30:4–"Sing praises to the Lord, O you saints, and give thanks to His holy name."

Another day, another week.  I find it to be a good exercise and a worthy practice to begin the week with a basic reminder for praise.  This verse and those like it can serve as that reminder, pointing us in the right direction and keeping our ficus where it should be.  So, as we begin another week it might be a good idea for us all to begin like this, with praise.

Psalm 118:5-6–Comfort in Distress

Psalm 118:5-6–"Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.  The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?"

Every human who has lived or who will ever live will experience distress.  It is not outlandish to claim that distress is the human condition.  But this is but a portion of the story.  As Christians, we understand that the trials and stresses of this life are as a result of sin.  We also assert that distress and tribulation are but temporary discomforts that pale in comparison to the vast awesomeness of God and His goodness. This means, at the very least, that when we are held under the seemingly-insurmountable weight of life, that we can have a confident hope in the knowledge of God.  We can face distress with hearts solidified not because we feel so strong ourselves, on the contrary!  We understand that our confidence rests solely on the greatness of the Lord God Almighty!

Let us never, not ever forget this.

Psalm 118:24–Let Us Rejoice in the Day that the Lord has Made

Psalm 118:24–"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

There are at least two things of note about this verse.

First of all, we should remember that this day is not speaking of any specific day in the ancient Hebraic calendar; it is speaking quite generally about everyday.  As in, the Lord has made everyday, most particularly the Lord has made today, indicating that today is a day–like every other day–that has been made by the Lord.

This basic assertion carries with the second point, which is that once we recognize the sacred value of today, the most appropriate response is joy.  It is the recognition of God's design of every single day that will compel us, at the very least, to treat every day with a sense of awe and worship, remembering the simple truth that what God creates is, ultimately, good.

Needless to say, there is more here but I'd rather just enjoy the day and rejoice in what the Lord has made!

Psalm 90:12–Teach Us to Number Our Days

Psalm 90:12–"So teach us to number our days that we might get a heart of wisdom."

Time flies, and as I get older time seems to speed by like a jet-propelled plane racing through the days of my life.  Realizing this can be, at the very least, a terrifying thought.  But before I fall into the deepest of despairs reckoned by the prospect of aging, I am reminded that time is valuable and I shouldn't waste it worrying about how precious it is.  Instead, I consider these verses and those like it that remind me that there is another perspective at play here, a different way to handle the swift passage of time: cherish it.

Remembering that our days are limited is the first step in treating each day as a distinct gift that should not be wasted away.  Let us commit to take this verse seriously throughout 2014 as we strive to live lives of discipline and wisdom.

Psalm 19:14–A Prayer

Psalm 19:14–"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

This is a simple but profoundly sincere prayer.  It is a request for devotion, as if the psalmist is actually asking that God would direct his heart and mouth towards a posture of praise and worship.  But the psalmist is requesting more than a mere "attitude adjustment."  Instead, the writer is asking for a complete internal transformation.  But this is more than a verse, it is a plea, an earnest prayer for faith. Let it become our own prayer too!

Psalm 100:4-5–"Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving!"

Psalm 100:4-5–"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!  Give thanks to Him; bless Him with Praise!  For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations!"

This is a command, request that we would come before God with a specific posture and attitude. Essentially, it is about thankfulness, as if thankfulness were the very definition of praise, the precise qualification of coming before God with reverence and humility.  The reason that thankfulness is of such vital importance for the action of entering the presence of God is that thankfulness, by its very nature, causes us not only to recognize the greatness of God by remembering all the awesome things that He has done, but it also forces us to be humble by that recognition.  In a way, this is the very essence of the Christian experience, we would do well to make it central in our lives.