O GOD, WE CONTINUE TO NEED MERCY!

MAY WE LIVE IN LIGHT OF OUR RISEN SAVIOR’S VICTORY

Psalm 85:1-3

LORD, you were favorable to your land;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

You forgave the iniquity of your people;

you covered all their sin. Selah

You withdrew all your wrath;

you turned from your hot anger.

This psalm walks us through a very familiar path with the children of Israel. They remember how God had been gracious to them, how He had shown grace and forgiveness for their sin and showed His favor to them in the past.

They now have sinned again and need to repent and return to their God.

Psalm 85:4-7

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation toward us!

Will you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

Will you not revive us again,

that your people may rejoice in you?

Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,

and grant us your salvation.

They know very well that they cannot demand forgiveness from Him, but can only base their request of God’s unchanging and faithful love. God must grant to them His salvation.

They repentantly come to God and ask Him to keep them from repeating their foolish rebellion.

Psalm 85:8-9

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,

for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;

but let them not turn back to folly.

Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,

that glory may dwell in our land.

The psalmist knows that God will forgive and save those who fear Him.

Psalm 85:10-13

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;

righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

Yes, the LORD will give what is good,

and our land will yield its increase.

Righteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.

The writer is waiting for the day when love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace will be present in the kingdom. We know that one future day, when Christ will reign supreme, this will come about.

We can see how similar this psalm is to our own lives. We have experienced the care and mercy of God, and in spite of it, we fall into sin. God then uses what is necessary to bring us back to Him where, as we repent, we can find mercy and grace.

Don’t we all look forward to the day when we will be transformed by Christ and live with Him for eternity?! Because of His gospel, believers can live with great hope and assurance.

We go to God because we know that Christ died for us and rose again, victorious. Today he is seated at the right hand of God and continues to be our advocate.

1 John 2:1

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

We live in light of eternity because we know that when Christ rose again, He defeated death.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear friends, like the children of Israel, we have the privilege of worshiping the living God. May our repentance from sin be true and timely, may our lives be lived remembering that we represent Jesus Christ, and may our sure confidence of eternal life be only because of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. 

PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION!

HOW ARE YOU?!

Psalm 84:10-12

For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

the LORD bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts,

blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Where do you live? We all know where we live physically, but where do our hearts live? Where do our thoughts find rest? Where do our goals find their fuel? Where do our hopes find their strength?

The psalmist makes his resolve clear: he would rather live in the courts of his God. He has no expectations of recognition or position; all he wants is to be in fellowship with his God.

Dear friends, as we reflect on the questions above, we must realize that if we don’t live in fellowship with God, it is our fault. Our sin is preventing it. It may be an action or an attitude that we do not want to change, yet God invites us into His fellowship. We don’t have to feel well to find rest in Him, in fact, He invites us when we are tired and overwhelmed by the difficulties of life.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

It could be our pride that is keeping us from finding rest in God. The psalmist is willing to be a doorkeeper, rather than to find opulence far from his Lord.

There is a reason we are not finding the rest and the peace God wants for us. We cannot blame it on others; we must look within ourselves. Do you realize what you are missing? Do you realize you are trading the eternal for the temporal?

God desires to give us direction, He wants to be the bright light that directs our paths, that exposes the dangers and delivers us from evil.

Our Lord desires to be our shield. He does not want us to carry the burden of bitterness or anger. He is totally aware of everyone who has wronged us and hurt us, and He knows how to bring justice or produce true repentance.

God is the rewarder of those who follow Him. All we do should be for our Lord. He is the One Who shows us favor and honor. Our goal should always be to please Him.

God will provide for every need we have or ever will have.

Philippians 4:19-20

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

When we let God define our needs, we will never lack for anything we truly need. His awareness is total and His power is unmatched. All God desires from us is to live in fellowship with Him.

Now, back to the question at the beginning: How are you? Don’t gloss over this question, the way we automatically respond to someone when we walk by them. I am not merely greeting you; I am really asking you: “How are you?”

I am not necessarily asking you if you have all you need financially, or how your job is going, how your relationships are, or even how your health is. I know that many are going through some very difficult times. God has compassion on us, and looks at the devastation of sin as the terrible consequence of the rebellion of man. When I ask you how you are, I would like for you to ask yourself if you are enjoying the wonderful fellowship with your heavenly father that could be yours. Dear friend, my desire is that you find rest in Christ.

May you be one of those who can say, “I trust in God”, as one who believes in the Word of God and in the Lord revealed in the Scriptures. When you can do that, you will be blessed. You will find peace and rest in the arms of your loving and perfect Shepherd.

ARE YOUR TRIALS DRIVING YOU TO GOD?

THERE IS PEACE IN THE LORD’S ARMS!

Psalm 84:3-4

Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah

Blessed are those who dwell in the house of the LORD. Blessed are those who know the everlasting Creator of all, who know Him as their King and their God. God cares for His own.

Luke 12:6-7

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

        

Matthew 6:26-30

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

We live in a world filled with sin, and sin hurts people! Families are hurt continuously because of sin. Our world has rulers who not only do evil, but also uphold it. People are suffering financially, many times caused by greed. Diseases are causing pain and sorrow. People are hurting in so many ways.

Where is God? Our God has everything in control! At times His eternal purposes are not easily seen, but we must trust His word.

 

Hebrews 13:6

So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”

The Lord is our helper, and He desires for us to come closer to Him. The Lord does not want us to worry, but to rest in Him.

1 Peter 5:6-7

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Where else can we go, if not to Him? We must humble ourselves. We must recognize God’s sovereign control, we must trust His wisdom, we must believe in His power, and find peace in His love.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Life in this world is often ‘heavy laden’, but those who know God can find settled peace in Him.

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

We must not let the cares of the world tempt us to find a solution somewhere else.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

God does not allow us to suffer without an eternal purpose, and He will not allow us to suffer without providing the necessary grace to sustain us during the trial. 

God is driving us into His arms, for that is where we can find peace.

If God is our King, then we must be willing to obey Him; if He is our Lord, we must willing to submit to Him; if He is our God, then we must be willing to trust Him. When we do, then we will find peace and even with tears in our eyes, we will praise our wonderful God.

As I write these words, I am thinking of friends who are going through very difficult times, and all I can say is this: I am glad that they know God and pray that they will know Him even more deeply, as they trust in Him.