Tuesday, June 30, 2015

GOD LOVES TO FORGIVE THE PENITENT HEART!











THOSE WHO KNOW GOD PRAISE HIM!

Psalm 145:1-3
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.

In the heart of a child of God, praise is the logical consequence of appreciating God’s greatness. Just the fact that one can call the King and God of the universe “my” should produce praise! Our growing understanding about the character and person of God should produce a continuous outpouring of praise from our souls. The more we know about God, the more surprised we should be that He wants to have a relationship with us, and the more humbled we should be that God wants to take care of us. The more we learn about God and His attributes, the more willing we should be to submit to Him and live for Him.

This life of praise and submission should be visible to others.

Psalm 145:4-7
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

As David reflects on the greatness of God, his logical assumption is that those who know Him will be declaring to others the wonderful works of the Lord. Speaking of God’s goodness should be the natural result of being showered with God’s grace and mercy.

Psalm 145:8-9
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The LORD is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

David cannot help but exalt the grace of God. Those who know God have experienced His saving grace. Although they live in the midst of people who are oblivious to God’s common grace to all men, they recognize the work that God is doing continually for the benefit of all He has created.

Reading these words emphasizes to me how very much I depend on the grace of God. My relationship with Him was rooted in His grace. Every day I go to God for forgiveness of my sins and, on the basis of His Word, I can trust that they will be graciously forgiven. I find peace in the fact that, because of His love that endures forever, I can approach Him with all my failures. My lack of praise and my complaining should cause the Lord to send me away, but because of His mercy and grace I am able to come to Him, knowing that He loves to forgive the penitent heart.

Psalm 145:10-13
All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
and all your saints shall bless you!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
[The LORD is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.]

One day every knee will bow and every single human will recognize the LORD’s mighty works. Today, we who know Him are to be proclaiming the faithfulness of God to all generations. God is reigning today, He is fulfilling His purposes, and His reign will never end!

If we can assert anything about God that is true, it is only because He has revealed it in His Word and we can rest assured that He will be faithful to all of His promises. And all that God does is kind; we are blessed!

God knows that we fail and are prone to sin. Thus David’s words are so encouraging for us:

Psalm 145:14-20
The LORD upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

God is looking for us to humble ourselves before Him and to recognize Him in all our ways. God wants to produce in us a habitual, whole-hearted dependence on Him; He wants us to recognize the perfection of His ways. He wants from us our complete trust and love.

Can we react like David did to all these truths?

Psalm 145:21
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.


I know what I need to do… I know how I should act… I know what I need to repent of… I know what my mouth should utter… By God’s grace and with His help, I will set out to do it today! May these be our marching orders!

Thursday, June 25, 2015

DON’T TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS!














WE ARE BLESSED!

Psalm 144:1-2
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.

Although David was a powerful king, he realized that any ability or power he had came from the Lord. His security came through the One who was his fortress and his refuge. It was the almighty and omnipotent God who was his deliverer from enemies. Often we have situations where we want to take matters into our own hands, or to vindicate ourselves, or to defend ourselves from hurtful words or deeds. David knew that God was his shield, his refuge, and his deliverer. God has the power and the wisdom to subdue any enemies.

These realities are both a comfort and reasons for surprise, for finite man.

Psalm 144:3-4
O LORD, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.

David does not presumptuously take the care of Jehovah as something expected or normal. In fact, David realizes the distance between himself and God, and marvels at His care. In some ways, the description not only causes us to be humbled by the care of God, but also helps to put our lives into perspective. They are brief, and pass quickly, like a shadow.

James also reminds us of our lives’ brevity and dependence on God’s will.

James 4:13-16
        Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

The psalmist, although he knows that he is small, knows that God has the power to come to his rescue.

Psalm 144:5-8
Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them!
Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

The next verses explode in worshipful gratitude!

Psalm 144:9-11
I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
who gives victory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

What a privilege and blessing is ours, to be able to read, learn, and meditate upon the inspired songs of David! He struggled, went to God for help, and penned a psalm. He sinned, experienced the grace of forgiveness, and then wrote a beautiful psalm. He learned about the character of God and worshipped Him with masterful words. How kind of God, to inspire David to write words that can powerfully express and even transform our attitudes and reactions!

Blessed are those who recognize the hand of God in their lives!

Psalm 144:12-15
May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!


May we, too, recognize the hand of God in our lives and may our testimony be as loud and clear as David’s: ‘Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!’

Monday, June 22, 2015

WE NEED TO BE STRIPPED OF OUR SELF RELIANCE












TRIALS ARE A GRACE FROM GOD!

Psalm 143:1-2
Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.

David is again asking for mercy and kindness from God. His request is rooted in the faithfulness and righteousness of the Almighty God. He knows that he cannot expect God to answer him based on his works, because he is not righteous and, in fact, no one is. He is asking for mercy, not judgment.

As one reads this psalm, it becomes obvious that having trials is not a curse, but rather, a grace of God. Trials produce the work of God in our lives. We humans tend to be independent and arrogant when we are left to ourselves, but these verses will show us how dependent David was in many areas of his life. In these first verses, he is dependent for the grace of God. He pleads for mercy; he does not deserve the care of God and he admits it.

As he goes on, he realizes that he also depends on God for protection.

Psalm 143:3-4
For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.

His enemies are pursuing him, he is crushed, he has been forced to live in darkness, his spirit is weak, and his heart is dismayed. His difficulty has caused him to see his total inability to protect himself and that he needs to rely on the Lord for help.

As he looks to God for mercy and protection, his need for spiritual strength is also exposed.

Psalm 143:5-6
I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

He can remember the care of the Lord and he stretches out his hands to God, pleading for strength. His dependence on God is total. There is no other place he can receive relief. There is no nourishment apart from God, Himself. God has proven His power, and now it is a grace even to be able to stop and remember the works of the Lord in his life. He looks around, but there is no other fountain of help for his parched spirit.

David realizes, as he looks at his situation, that he needs God’s guidance to know how to navigate the difficulties of his circumstances.

Psalm 143:7-8
Answer me quickly, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

If there had ever been any past feeling of self-sufficiency, now it is gone. He starts in the morning and looks to the LORD for guidance. He is unable to know where to go. His day begins in utter dependence on God. He depends on Him for encouragement and for wisdom.

David further realizes that he needs God to instruct him in the way he should go.

Psalm 143:9-10
Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!

He has made his choice: that Jehovah is his God and from Him alone will he receive instruction. He does not rely on his own knowledge or experience. The ability for him to know and do what is right can come only from the Lord, Himself. All other ground will be uneven and hard to cross.

Psalm 143:11-12
For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.

Having made a clear choice to depend completely upon the Lord, David declares that he is His servant. The character of God is what gives him peace. He knows God is righteous, His love is unchanging and dependable, and God will always provide for his soul. God’s name is all David needs to find rest and rescue.

We so often look at trials as something to avoid or to go through as quickly as possible. But in reality, trials are a gift of God, for they strip us of all our self-reliance. Trials expose our need for grace, for protection, for strength, for guidance, and for instruction. We can rest assured that God will be true to His character and that trials are His means of producing godly results in us.


OUR TRIALS TODAY ARE NOT A CURSE, THEY ARE A BLESSING!

Thursday, June 18, 2015

TRUST GOD! HE HOLDS THE FUTURE












FAITHFULNESS IN TRIALS!

Psalm 142
With my voice I cry out to the LORD;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
Look to the right and see:
there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.
I cry to you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.

This psalm was written by David while he was being pursued by King Saul - a period of time that was certainly very trying for the man who had been anointed by the prophet Samuel as God’s choice to be Israel’s next king. Certainly, it had to be a time of great confusion for David. He had served God and his nation faithfully. He had been put into the situation by God, Himself, since he had not looked for a position of power or prestige. All he knew now was that he was being persistently hunted by Saul, and that his life was in great danger. His prayers were not being responded to quickly, and he had to run to protect himself, enduring the discomfort of the wilderness.

What kind of prayers would accompany us, if we faced this same kinds of problems? Would we become rebellious and frustrated? Would our faith waiver?

David knows that his only hope is in the LORD. He cries out for mercy and help. His lament is clear before God - he does not have to pretend his situation is easy. He can go to God and bare his soul. He is in trouble, he feels that he is losing his strength, and his spirit is becoming weak. At the same time, he knows that God is aware of his plight; God is watching and knows that he needs His help.

David is aware that there are traps laid out for him. The danger is real; since no one is offering him a refuge or even noticing his need, all human help is useless. His only resource for help is God, to whom he desperately cries. He knows that his survival thus far is because the Lord is his refuge. In God resides his only protection and hope. David is overwhelmed. He is low and needy.

Yet David does not lose hope completely, for he asks to be brought out of prison and looks forward to being able to rejoice in gratitude for God’s deliverance. He anticipates the day when he will be surrounded with righteous people, after God provides freedom to him again.

We read in 1 Samuel how David had an opportunity to kill Saul, but chose not to take the life of the anointed king of Israel into his own hands:

1 Samuel 24:6
        He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD's anointed.”

David was enduring an unjust situation, but chose to depend on God and not to sin. We know that in God’s timing, He did deliver David, and put him on the throne for which he had been anointed.

When we go through difficult times, even though they can seem overwhelming and the outcome looks unpleasant, our resolve needs to be the same as David’s. While we read this psalm, we have the advantage of already knowing the outcome, but David didn’t. He had to deal with all the confusion and the hardship of not seeing a way out, and having to trust the LORD alone for his salvation.

May we have that same kind of dependence upon God. May we react righteously, even in our times of greatest desperation, when we find ourselves incapable of dealing with the situations that face us.


Every day, we have new opportunities to rely on God and to help others do the same! May we be found faithful!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

PREPARE FOR DIFFICULT DAYS!














SPIRITUAL DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT AN OPTION!

Psalm 141
O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!
Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.

What a wonderful Psalm to guide us during difficult and overwhelming times! David has no doubt that his circumstances require God to come to his aid. The request for help seems desperate and necessary. The plea is for a quick response, and there is almost a sense of perceived neglect in his request.

There is no doubt that although prayer is part of his normal daily routine, his praying is not rote, but thought through. It is daily time of careful worship to his God.

As David thinks over his day, he realizes that he needs the LORD’s help to keep his tongue from saying wrong things. Oh, how easily, when I am under stressful times, do I allow my mouth to sin. Complaining can so easily enter into my conversation, unkind answers, even to those I love, can so easily be my natural response.

When things were hard, David knew that he was prone to say wrong things and his heart was easily attracted to sin. We would do well, when things become stressful, to take time to pray to the Lord, asking for help regarding both the situation, and our heart attitudes. Surrounded by a wicked world, it is easy to follow others in their pursuit of evil and to react in worldly ways.

The psalmist invites the intervention of righteous people in his life. He desires their rebuke and guidance. He knows very well that he needs godly counsel. And he also knows that he needs to humbly receive what he has invited!

Like David, we need to invite godly influencers into our lives, and be prepared to accept their words of counsel or rebuke. Spiritual discipleship is not an option!

David has chosen to avoid any influence by the ungodly; instead, his eyes are directed to God. He seeks His help, knowing that he has no strength within himself to live a righteous life; he is totally reliant on God’s enablement. He knows there are traps all around him and he constantly needs God’s help to avoid them.

This is true in my life, too! Left to my own strength, I set myself up for continuous failure. Preparation for difficulties is necessary before we enter them. Our days should begin with prayer, be lived in prayerful dependence, and should end in grateful praise.

I don’t have to think long, to remind myself of times (even today) where prayer should have bathed the events that confronted me. And I know that my response would have been very different had I stopped to pray before reacting!

One of the great hymns says:

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
        Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior!
    I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour, teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, Most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.



May you start today with a prayer like this hymn, and thus be prepared for the traps that so easily make us stumble! Then, may your day end with grateful praise that God protected you from falling into those traps!

Monday, June 1, 2015

ARE YOU CRUSHED OR ENCOURAGED?













GOD’S SCRUTINY SHOULD PRODUCE JOYFUL SOBRIETY

Psalm 139:1
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

We have worked our way through this wonderful Psalm, learning that we are carefully searched and known by the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, and just God.

His knowledge of our ways both surprises us and, in some ways, frightens us. Yet despite God’s complete and intimate knowledge of everything about us, He does not reject us, but remains close to us. His loving care was planned before our birth, begins at our conception, and continues on and on through every day of our lives. We cannot prolong or shorten our days, as they have been ordained by God, Himself.

This kind of knowledge is effortless for God, and is sure. We cannot stop it, but we can have varied reactions to it. We can ignore it, like many men do who go about their lives with careless disregard of the presence of God. We can live in fear of it, burdened under the weight of our sins, trying to appease God. We can live day by day with the illusion that we can hide in the dark from God’s notice. Or we can invite such scrutiny and be blessed and transformed by its reality!

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 everlasting!

David chose to embrace the scrutiny of God and to welcome His transforming power. David was not afraid of being an open book before the God whom he loves, and by whom he was tenderly loved.

David did not live with the illusion that his ways were perfect; he realized that sinning was part of his life. He did not justify sin nor did he minimize it. His use of the term ‘grievous’ shows he knew that it was offensive to God, and that it caused sorrow and grief to the holy God he loved.

David realized that he needed to be led in the ways of God, and was willing to let God show him the way that would be pleasing to Him.

As I meditated upon this psalm, I realized that there have been times when I have ignored the scrutiny of God or have lived as if I could hide from Him. The desire to sin will always lead us to ungodly reasoning. There were times when I have been more worried about human scrutiny than the far more penetrating investigation by God. Other times, I have been crushed in the realization that God is always a witness to my sin.

These words of David, inspired by God, need to bear great influence upon our daily lives. Yes, they should be different because we live in the eternal presence and awareness of God. Sin should never be embraced or minimized. These truths should also give us much hope, as we realize that nothing is happening to us that escapes God’s awareness. Our lives have been planned by God since before our conception! May we, as David, wholeheartedly invite personal investigation by God, as we strive to grow in sanctification.


May the significance of these truths produce much joy and peace in our lives, balanced by a holy fear and appropriate sobriety!