Remember

DEVOTION

PSALMS

REMEMBER

Ps 78:9-16

9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; 10 they did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by his law. 11 They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them. 12 He did miracles in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand firm like a wall. 14 He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. 15 He split the rocks in the desert and gave them water as abundant as the seas; 16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.

NIV

We have a lot more of this language to deal with for quite a while. The rebuking of the children of Ephraim. This is one of the tribes of Israel and they are the descendants of Joseph. There is a battle mention in Chronicles regarding some members of his tribe beaten badly by the men of Gath. But we cannot be certain this song has any reference to that. However, what it does show us is that Israel or this tribe, but it is most likely calling out all of Israel, they are losing their battles, and they will go into exile because they have no keep the covenant of God. This was the case in history. We know God used foreign kings to overrun Israel because of their unfaithfulness to him. They forgot what he had done for them and for stanzas of this song we will be reminded of all that he did for the Children of Israel during time he brought them out of Egypt. But what about us? Is there a lesson for us in this concept? Have we forgotten all that God has done for us? Some would say we should not rest on our, or his laurels, always talking about what he did, instead of talking about what he is doing. But what if he isn’t doing? That might seem like he isn’t doing anything majestic, or the miraculous in our lives at the moment, but he is. Still, it is always good to remember those mighty acts he did in the past. If we get complacent, not remembering, not testifying of his mighty working in our lives, we could lose the battle against evil. We might even throw down our bows. What this would look like for us, is that we are armed with the armor of God so we can fight against the forces of this dark world. This needs to always be in the forefront of our minds and spirits. If we get lazy in our faith, lazy in our consideration of God and all he has done for us, in us and through us, we might just not have all our armor in place. It is good to recount all his deeds. First he save us, that alone should be enough to remember our experience and keep telling the story to whoever will listen. But we have been healed physically too. And we have been given miracle after miracle, provisions when there were none. He has provided from places we would have never expected, just as he did bringing water from a rock, enough to supply for several millions of people. He has guided our path, he lead us from the inner city to the suburbs and then to this place, and to each community of believers for an expressed purpose. Just as he led the children of Israel with a pillar of fire and smoke, he led us by his divine voice, speaking directly to us, giving us direction and what he was going to do. This is our personal testimony, but each believer has their own. We will not forget, we will tell the story over again, and it not only serves as a testimony to other, about God, but it serves to keep us in relationship with him, not setting aside any of the armor, keeping our guard up against those forces of evil, against the schemes of the evil one, and the forces of evil in heavenly realms, the spirit world. God is doing great things each and every day in someone’s life, and yes, in ours. We cannot forget ever. We must continually remember.

No forgetting

DEVOTION

PSALMS

NO FORGETTING

Ps 78:1-8

O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old — 3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, 6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. 7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. 8 They would not be like their forefathers — a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

NIV

We are going to spend a couple of days on this song, as it is quite long. Again a song dealing with the relationship between the children of Israel and God. Most of it deals with this disobedience their refusal to live according to the covenant. There is going to be a lot of negative but as with most it will end with the positive. However, because all these songs are part of the canon, the bible, they are more than just history lesson about the people who lived and died. All the scripture is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, therefor including this song. It is more than about the Israelites relationship with God, it is revealing who God is. That is the story of all the Bible, revealing who God is, it is his story, so we may know him and in knowing him, serve him, being his people, living out his purpose. Sometimes it may take us years to accomplish his purpose for our life, years of study, years of working toward his plan for our life. Look at Moses, he did not get going on God’s purpose for him until he was eighty, Noah didn’t till he was five hundred, yet David was called as a youth. Although he was anointed as a youth by Samuel, it was not until years later that he actually became the king. Why are we always in such a hurry? Here in the beginning of this song we are told about telling our children about the goodness of God. We are told to hear his teaching, but not only hear it, listen to the words of his mouth. How many sermons have we sat through hearing but not listening? How many corrections have we heard, but pay little attention to them? How many times have we read through the bible, hearing the words, in a sense, but not really listening to them, absorbed them, digested them, incorporated them into our daily life, making them our life. God may speak in parable, Jesus did, and maybe this is about Jesus, but the point is God is not going to and has not hidden himself or his truth from us. Some would say all is a mystery, all the mysteries of God, but he has revealed them, not withholding himself from us, so we may know and understand who he is. He will keep on revealing himself to generation after generation. We have a responsibility to tell our children about God and his mighty deeds throughout generations. Although we know much of the history of Israel, certainly not all, for the world does not have enough room to contain all the books if every deed of God was recorded.

John 21:25

25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

NIV

And John is just speaking about Jesus, just think about all the things Yahweh, God did before sending Jesus. But we do have what we have and it is all that is needed to know him. He made sure it was recorded so that generation after generation would know him. Even through Israel was rebellious against him, even to this day, we, the next generation, the children of the children of the fathers before us, have what we need to know him. We are the children of many generations that followed. At the time of this writing we are the children yet to be born. We have put our trust in the Lord God and we have not forgotten his deeds. We have remembered all his deeds for the children of Israel and we have remembered all his deeds in our life. He has done great deeds in us, and for us and through us. He is working every day in us, perfecting us, making us to be more like Jesus. But are we rebellious? Do we rebel against his purpose for our life? Are we more interested in our wants then his, or him for that matter? Why are we here? What is the purpose of life anyway? Is it all about how much we can gather for ourselves? Is it about just living, enjoying what we can, accumulating as much as we can, and then dying leaving all behind for someone else? Why are we alive? Is it not for the purpose of God? Are we not here for his enjoyment, according to his plan. We merely have to look at the beginning when he first created man. He brought order to the cosmos, creating order, the earth and the universe it exists in. He made all the wonders of the earth, filled it with everything wonderful and then made a man to live in it and tend it. But the greatest purpose was so God would come and walk and talk with this man, Adam, his creation, in the cool of the day, to fellowship with him, to enjoy spending time with him. That is why we are here. Even if people before us were not loyal to him, that is not us, we are the children who have put our trust in him. We will not forget his deeds. We will remember, we will not forget!

He is working

DEVOTION

PSALMS

HE IS WORKING

 Ps 77

I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint.

 Selah

 4 You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. 5 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; 6 I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired: 7 "Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? 8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

Selah 

10 Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High." 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 12 I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. 13 Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? 14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. 15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

 Selah 

16 The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. 17 The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. 18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. 19 Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

NIV

Sometimes we might think God is not as near to us as we would like. Sometimes we have not witnessed any miracles in our life. We pray, but nothing seems to happen. We get tired of praying and not seeing any results. People we love as still sick. People we love are not being healed. We are not being healed, we pray about our infirmity and it does not go away. We know God is there, and in fact that is the reason we pray. If we did not believe in God, why would we take the time to lament, to seek him for an answer? Why have we not experienced his compassion regarding our situation? But he is there, he has always been there. We have no reason to lose any hope at all. We recount the many times he did wonderful miracles in our life. We saw miracle after miracle. We heard his voice, audible as well as within our spirit. He has directed our path, opening a door when he closed another. He has healed us, first spiritually, second physically. He has provided when there was no provision. When we were in troubled times, like the poem, Footprints, he carried us through. He has always been at our side, being our God as he has declared we are his people. Our spirit is lifted to new heights each morning as we spend time with him, listening, meditating, and recording the thoughts he speaks into our heart. We are encouraged by his acts in the past and are inspired to believe for future acts in our life. Hope is not without cause. We have much to cause us to continue, to be steadfast in our hope. We can see him working even now. He is a mighty God who will never leave us, nor reject us. He loves us more than we can even comprehend. We do not deserve his love, but then he is God and his love is pure and unwavering toward us because we are not only his creation, but we have accepted his Son as our Savior. He still loves everyone, all his creation, and he is sad that his justice must send some to perish, but for those of us who belong to the household of faith, his love endures forever and he is pleased we are members of his flock, that we are called his children. He is overjoyed we are co-heirs with his Son. His joy is complete to know we will spend all eternity in his everlasting arms. What joy that also brings to our spirit. There is no cause to lament, to walk with a downcast continence. Instead, we lift our hearts, our voice and praise our Lord for he is worthy of our praise. We lift our heads and we walk in the light, no darkness is in our view, nor can it ever. We walk tall because we are people of the way, people of the God Most High. He desires to continue to great things in us and for us and though us.  

Resplendent with light

DEVOTION

PSALMS

RESPLENDENT WITH LIGHT

Ps 76

In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. 2 His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.

Selah 

 4 You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. 5 Valiant men lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. 6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still. 7 You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry?  8 From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet —  9 when you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.

Selah 

10 Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.   11 Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. 12 He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.

NIV

Well the Hebrew does not use the word resplendent at all, rather it uses luminous, however being resplendent with light would mean being richly colorful, sumptuous. We suppose both the Hebrew and this English translation give us the right idea about the image of God as being filled with light, or light emitting from him in such a way it would almost be impossible to see his actual form. We would have to be an avid hunter to appreciate mountains rich with game or have lived in those days when game was the normal fair at the dinner table. Nevertheless the idea is God is far more majestic then any scene on earth. This gives us that clue about not getting too cozy with the scenes of the world, or the game it holds for us. We might not hunt wild game upon the mountains, but we could hunt other items which the world is rich with. As men, we were designed to be the hunter, gatherer type to support our family, while the ladies were designed as the nester, to care for the nest, making everything nice. Of course those roles are so intermingled in our modern culture and both men and women function as the hunter, gatherer as well as nester, but us men do not do the nesting thing much justice. Nevertheless the idea is that we need to be careful about heading out on the hunt on the mountains. Instead we should be seeking the Lord, hunting him, searching for his presence, his person, and he has promised us that if we seek, we will find, if we knock the door will be opened. Those valiant men, the great hunters on the mountains of life will lie plundered. When they die, they will live no more, not one of the wicked, the warriors who have hunted his full on the mountains, who have captured it all, will be able to lift his hands. At the word, the rebuke of God, both the horse and the chariot, the symbol of the warrior, the great champions of the world, will lie still, implying in the grave, which they will not raise in the resurrection. However they will be judged, they will be judged by an angry God. They will not be able to stand before him, that either means they will be judged in their graves, or they will fall prostrate before him, with fear and trembling, knowing all their gain in life is for nothing, for now all is lost including their everlasting life. They are silenced in his judgment, but we are lifted up, we who were not hunters of all the game on the mountains, but who sought after the Lord. We may not have as much as all the great hunters, having all the horses and chariots, other than of course that which God himself supplied for us. So we might be seen as the afflicted in some sense and we will be vindicated, redeemed, uplifted and saved. We will be in his resplendent with light.   

At peace with God

DEVOTION

PSALMS

AT PEACE WITH GOD

 Ps 76

In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. 2 His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war. Selah 

4 You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. 5 Valiant men lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. 6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still. 7 You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? 8 From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet —  9 when you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Selah

10 Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.   11 Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. 12 He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.

NIV

Now God is known in more then Judah. His name is great in more then Israel, at least as physical land. We know that we are actually true Israel for Paul explains that quite well in his discussion about having our heart circumcised.

Rom 2:28-29

28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

NIV

Although this is just a portion of his complete dissertation about being circumcised and being a Jew and how there is a great advantage of the Jewish people to not just be physically circumcised, but to be that way in their heart. Yet the point remains that what makes a person Israel is having a circumcised heart. This allows even women to become Israel which would then fit into the will of Almighty God. He does not separate men from women for he created them both. In the days of old men were the only ones who had identity as Israelites and a woman’s identity was in her father or husband. But not so with God, that is not the way he designed man and woman. Yet here we are today as equals, in some sense. There is still a great divide in the world, created by the master of evil in order to create chaos. But within the body of Christ we both have had our heart circumcised and he dwells in the tent of our hearts. He is within us all, both men and women to unite us as one body under the headship of our Lord Jesus. We will get to the rest of this song later, but for now we should focus on God as his children rather than on ourselves and any differences we might have in the physical sense. Sure we are still attracted to the opposite sex, and that too is the design of God for his purpose, again not for ours, although we receive great joy joining ourselves with a spouse and becoming one flesh. However, we still have to see this is all about God, not about people. This song is about the greatness of our God. How great he is, how powerful he is, how much he can control everything. He judges all men, at the appointed time. This is the importance of exposing our heart to God, having it circumcised. He examines our heart, we hide nothing from him, our thoughts, our desires, our temptations, our failures, our successes. He knows the inner most part of our being. Because we are in Christ, however, he has already judged us holy and righteous in his sight. Even in our weakness’s he sees us as strong. In our imperfection he sees us as perfect. Those who know him not should be afraid as to how he judges them, but most likely they do no care. But we will praise him for he is our mighty light. He broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords and all the weapons of war. We are in Zion, We are Israel, we are in Christ, we are at peace with God.

Amazing Grace

DEVOTION

AMAZING GRACE

Rom 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NIV

Let’s talk about the other grace which is used seventeen times in the New Testament. This is the grace which we mostly call as unmerited favor, the free gift of God. This verse again, is the most widely quoted referring to the gift of God, salvation and eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This Greek word translated gift is that word Charisma. A gift from God. Some translations add the word free, although it does not appear in the Greek Interlinear. Yet it is free, as most, if not all gifts are received. When we give a gift we surely do not expect the recipient to pay us for it, or do something for it, or owe us something, or act in a manner of indebtedness. It is a free gift which we gave out of our free will because we care for that person and wanting to show them how much, by giving the gift. Of course sometimes we give out of a sense of obligation because we were invited to a party. Who would show up to a birthday, baby shower, wedding shower, or wedding without a gift, after being invited? But still we give the gift freely and without any expectation other than a thank you. That is sort of how God’s free gift is. It is free and he gives it freely, but first we have to invite him to the party. He does not show up uninvited. So we invite Jesus to our party of life. We have been a having the time of our life doing whatever we please. But somehow someone tells us about Jesus wanting to be invited and because of the prompting and conviction of the Holy Spirit we make the invitation and he comes bearing this free gift of eternal life. In most cases of gifts at parties the recipient has to unwrap the gifts. It is sort of like that with the gift of God, we have to unwrap it. We have to see exactly what this gift is, how wonderful it is, what it means to us and how do we respond to his gift. Some recipients at parties respond with, “Oh how beautiful”, “It’s just want I wanted”, “I can really use this, thank you” Or something else along those lines. Sometimes just a simply “Thank you so much” will do just fine. That might well be our best response to God’s free gift of eternal life. “Thank you Lord, so much”. But somehow we also might get a little confused about our response and try somehow to repay God, or do something thinking we now have to earn it in order to keep it. We start thinking along the lines about how can we be a “Good Christian” in order to live up to the gift. The fact is, there is no such thing as a “Good Christian” because then we would have to say, that is in respect to being a “Bad Christian”. How is that possible? How can we be a “Bad Christian” if we accepted his free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord? Oh sure we are not supposed to just go out and see how many sins we can commit just because we have this free gift. That would just be ludicrous. But on the other hand there is no proper response of trying to be a “Good Christian”, that is trying to live completely free of sin, or thinking that we do, for than we would not be in need of the gift anymore. We would attain perfection and then be just as perfect as Christ and have no need of him in order to live eternally. However, the scriptures are full of instructions as to what manner of life we are to live now that we have opened the Gift of God and thanked him for it. Those manners of life are covered under the other grace, the divine influence upon our heart and how that is reflected in our lives. So once we open the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, he sends the Holy Spirit to influence our heart, directing our life, and our path. It is just so simply, we just need to say, Thank you Lord for saving my soul, thank you Lord for making me whole. How amazing is Grace!

Grace and peace

DEVOTION

GRACE AND PEACE

Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend in their co-authored book, Boundaries, talk about a formula. It is truth plus grace over time equals a changed life. In this case Dr. Cloud uses the term grace in the sense of the English meaning of graciously or with love and concern. This means it is alright to tell someone the truth about the fact that salvation through Jesus Christ saves them from going to hell as long as we so graciously or with grace. That is we cannot thump someone over the head with the truth, Accept Jesus or you are going to hell. Most of us never witness in that manner anyway. We usually tell people about the love of God and that he wants them to go to heaven. The problem is they already think they are going to heaven because they are a good person, at least in their own mind. So then how do we tell them the truth? With grace. Then over a course of time it will change their life. Again it may not happen the instant we blast the truth to them. However in many of the times throughout the New Testament we read the Apostle Paul giving the salutation of peace and grace.

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

He uses this in the letters 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus,and Philemon. Peter uses it in both of his letters and John also in his second letter and it shows up in the Revelation to John as well. It must have a special meaning.

In all these cases it is the grace that is defined as the divine influence upon our heart or as another lexicon puts it, the spiritual condition of one by the divine grace. This again is being influenced by God in our spirit, our being and this peace is not the opposite of war, but as define specifically in the Christian concept as the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Jesus Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthy lot, of whatsoever sort that is.

This is how Paul used it in his letter to the Romans.

Rom 8:6-7

6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;

NIV

So as we are influence by God or the Spirit as he is the present personage of God that is present in the world today and in fact is dwelling within us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, which may be tomorrow’s topic. Nevertheless as he influences us, we also have that assurance of being at peace with God, fearing nothing from him. We are no longer subjects of his wrath, but rather we are subjects of his grace, his divine influence, in this kind of grace we could even say objects of his gracious act. But the point we need to know is that we are his people and he is our God. He has been so good to us, he influences our heart for good, for the good of his kingdom, and he gives us that peace of mind, we are doing what is good and pleasing in his sight when we live as being under his influence. This means we cannot live under our own influence or under the influence of the evil one, whose desire is for our destruction, not salvation. So we must resist the devil and he will flee from us while we pay attention not to our own desires or wants or goals or ambitions either, but rather pay attention to the Spirit. Then we will be living with grace and peace.

Agents of Grace

DEVOTION

SPECIAL THOUGHTS ON GRACE

We are more than beneficiaries of God’s grace, we are supposed to be agents of grace

It is one thing for us to know the grace of God in our lives, but then we have to determine just which grace is being spoken of here. First we have received the grace of God, as it is defined as unmerited favor. This is the Greek word Charisma, which is used seventeen times throughout the entire New Testament. Perhaps the most famous verse where this word is used is:

Rom 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV

This then would read the wages of sin is death; but the divine gratuity i.e. deliverance (specifically a spiritual endowment.) This is the unmerited type of favor.

However the word grace also comes from another Greek word which is used over one hundred and thirty times throughout the New Testament.

This Greek word is Charis and it is defined mostly as the divine influence upon our heart and how that is reflected in our lives.

John 1:17

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

KJV

So then this reads, for the law was given by Moses, but the divine influence upon our heart and truth came by Jesus Christ. In so many of the verses where we read this word grace, we can insert this definition and get a far richer understanding of what is meant and how that relates to our lives.

Then when we consider the premise statement that we are more than beneficiaries of his divine influence upon our hearts, but we are agents of that influence, it is reflected in our lives and we are agents, we share, we give, we are used by God to share his grace, his divine influence with others. They are able to enjoy his grace, his influence through our lives. This bares truth as if we would to look at our lives as water. It can be withheld within, as a cistern would, or it could flow from us as a river, or a spring of living water flowing out of us.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Israel about forsaking the Lord, the spring of living water and spoke about how they were like cisterns, but broken that cannot hold water.

We can see if we want to just keep the Lord for ourselves, just want to be recipients of grace, and know it is for us and we are so grateful, but we try to keep this water for ourselves. It becomes stagnant, and stinky.  

Jer 2:13

13 "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

NIV

But we can see that when we believe, streams of living water will flow from within us, it flows out, it overflows our banks and effects everything around us.

John 7:38-39

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

NIV

So let us be agents of God’s divine influence upon our hearts, let the influence overflow our banks, flood the whole area around us, effecting everyone in our presence.

Give thanks

DEVOTION

PSALMS

GIVE THANKS

Ps 75

We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.

2 You say, "I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge uprightly. 3 When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. Selah 4 To the arrogant I say, 'Boast no more,' and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horns. 5 Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak with outstretched neck.'"

6 No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. 7 But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. 8 In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.

9 As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. 10 I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

NIV

This song seems to be a conversation between the composer and God. However, it may just be the composer is remembering what God had said and is quoting him. Still he begins with giving thanks to the Lord, O God and being thankful that his Name is near. The Name of God is near, means tell of your wonderful deeds. It seems that is missing today. Although for us who attend church, who gather together to worship God, his Name is near to us, we speak of his wonderful deeds. Well for the most part we do. Sometimes we sort of forget to talk about his wonderful deeds. One church we attended didn’t even have his Name in any of the songs during the supposed worship time. They were ballads about men, how we are to live, or respond, not about God and his wonderful deeds. This song writer does list some of his wonderful deeds. First, God and God alone will choose the appointed time and he and he alone judges correctly. We have all sorts of human judges and just recently such a big stink put up about a judge’s actions when he was a teenager, trying to prove he would not judge correctly, without bias. Mankind has had judges since God appointed them to rule over Israel, but they ruled through the power of God. The judges of today rule through the power of man, and never can judge as correctly, as uprightly as God. When the appointed time arrives there is going to be a real earth quake. Although we might see an actual quacking of the ground, it is more metaphorical of a quack, as men quaking in their boots. Mankind will be shaken to its core. It is interesting the Hebrew word translated quack actually means to melt. The arrogant, which is the non-believers, those who think the power of man can control the earth, the environment, the weather and claim to have the answers, the solutions, they will be not able to boast anymore. They will see the power of God holding up the pillars. He says they are not to lift up their horns. This Hebrew word translated horns is very interesting as it can be used for many things, such as a cornet or elephant tusk, which would be a shofar, but that is actually a ram’s horn. But it also is used as the corner of an altar or a ray of light or figuratively as power. So he tells the arrogant to not lift your power against God’s, you will lose every time. This gives us another picture of the power and might of our God. We should not get too prideful about anything we do in our own strength. If we start thinking we have the answers, that our studies, through our education, we have any greatness of thinking, we are in trouble. We lift each other up all the time, we give praise to those who are prolific pontificators of words either in preaching or writings. We give praise to those who use their voice with music, applauding, buying their recordings, giving them status among men. It is a slippery slope for both those who give them praise and for those who receive such praise. It is God and God alone who brings one down and exalts another. Any exalting that is to be done will be done by God, except of course our exalting of his name. His cup will bring the arrogant to their knees, but his cup is also overflowing with grace and mercy to those who look to him for life. We will praise him forever, he is going to cut off the power of the wicked, but lift up the power of the righteous. There is that contrast once again. Why would we ever want to be among or join, or partnership with the arrogant, the wicked? Why would we ever want what they want? Let us simply live as God empowers us to live, giving all honor and glory to his name. Let us declare his wonderful words. Let us give thanks.

The temple of God

DEVOTION

PSALMS

THE TEMPLE OF GOD

 Ps 74

Why have you rejected us forever, O God? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 2 Remember the people you purchased of old, the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed — Mount Zion, where you dwelt. 3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary. 4 Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs. 5 They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. 6 They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. 7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name. 8 They said in their hearts, "We will crush them completely!" They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land. 9 We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.  10 How long will the enemy mock you, O God? Will the foe revile your name forever? 11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

12 But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth. 13 It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. 14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert. 15 It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever flowing rivers. 16 The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. 17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. 18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD, how foolish people have reviled your name. 19 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever. 20 Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. 21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.

22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. 23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.

NIV

Although we know from history the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed twice. The first temple considered as Solomon’s temple was destroyed around 587BC by Nebuchadnezzer II and of course the second temple was destroyed for good in 70AD, having never been rebuild, at least yet. Some scholars believe Jesus will not return until the temple is rebuilt or after his return the temple will be rebuild. But the fact is the temple has been built or is being built as we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the temple and we are being built as living stones into the temple of God. It is a, we are, in both cases. Although this psalm might well be speaking of the physical temple in Jerusalem, it also speaks of us. The enemy is trying is best to destroy this temple of God. He comes wielding axes wanting to carve his image into the panels of our life, hacking up the panels God has installed in us. He wants to burn us to the ground, well actually he wants us to burn in hell. If we do not consider the destructive desires of Satan aimed right at us, we would be naive immature babes in Christ, not understanding and interpreting the scriptures correctly. His whole goal is aimed at destroying the temple of God, us. Although in the past God allowed the enemy kings to take Israel captive because of Israel’s sin of adopting idols, gods of the people who lived among them, who should have been completely overrun, destroyed in the first place, when Israel entered the promised land. But they disobeyed that command of God and allowed the Canaanites to remain in the land. Then they started to worship the gods of the Canaanites. Is it any wonder God allowed their capture and the temple destroyed. What a lesson for us. Being his temple and having the enemy at our gate putting us under siege, God will be our refuge, our every present help in trouble, our rock, our defense, our strength, our wall. But that depends on the simple fact that we do not adopt any of the gods of this world in which we live. Although we cannot destroy the world as the Israelite's were supposed to destroy the Canaanites, we can live as though it has been destroyed. That is it has not business in our lives. Yes, we have to live here, we have to go out into it to make our living, being in the work force, shopping for the necessities of life. Yes, we have to interact with the people who do not know or care to know about God and are, even if unwilling, or unknowingly, serve Satan. As that old Bob Dylan song, “You have to serve somebody” carries that truth that if you are not serving God you are serving the devil, but you are going to serve somebody. So we serve the Lord and him alone. We cannot allow the temple to be trampled on by the enemy. We cannot allow the temple to be desecrated by the gods of this world. We also cannot, again be so naive to ignore the enemy is rising up against us and mocking us at the same time, which mocks God. Be our fortress of Lord, defend us against all that would come against us, keep us in the palm of your hand. As we look to you and you alone for all we are, all we have, and all we do. The world and it’s gods have no place in your temple.     

My Refuge

DEVOTION

PSALMS

MY REFUGE

Ps 73:21-28

21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

NIV

We have been visiting with this writer and his feelings as he watches the people of the world advance their personal wealth with their evil agendas, their self-serving lifestyle and how he has been wrestling with envy and a jealous nature trying to live for God but wanting what the world has as well. Then feeling guilty and having that feeling of shame and disgust with himself. We have related to some of his feelings alone the way, but now we see that coming to his sense of reasoning is surfacing. When he was feeling all that and was getting a little bitter toward God, being but a brute, a senseless brute, he realizes he still always held a place for God in his heart. That is how we have lived at moments in our life. There have been those times we wanted more, we wanted to be able to be free to do that which our human nature yearns for. But we know God is with us, we know God has always been there guiding us, holding by our right hand as a parent grips their children in a crowd, not to lose them, not to allow them to wander off. God has been our guide, our counsel. He has kept us within the palm of his hand, and in there we will not be shaken nor will anyone be able to take us from there. And after all this life, with all its struggles and even after wrestling with the desires of the flesh, he will take us into glory. Because although our temptations have been great and we have failed to resist them all the time, every time, we have never forsaken our trust in him, nor have we completely turned our back on him to live for, to pursue a life of pure self-indulgence. We have always wanted within us to live to please him and desire to resist those ways. We have never given up on God, even in those times we felt so far from him, or that we felt he was so far from us. Who else can we trust in? Surely not our self, for it is weak, but he is strong. He is the strength of our heart. He is our portion forever. Never will we stray that far from his side that we would be like those who will perish. Those who are far from him will indeed perish because they are unfaithful to him. But even in those times when we have failed, when temptation has gotten the best of us, we have never left his side to join those who are far from him and will perish. As for us, it is good to be near God. We have made the Sovereign Lord our refuge. We will tell of all his good deeds.

Nightmare

DEVOTION

PSALMS

NIGHTMARE

Ps 73:13-20

13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. 15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! 20 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

NIV

We are still in the thick of it regarding having envy toward the wicked and their worldly success. We are coming off the last phrase,

Ps 73:12

12 This is what the wicked are like — always carefree, they increase in wealth.

NIV

And now the writer of this psalm is feeling a little bitter because he feels it is in vain that he has kept his heart pure and hands innocent. Although the people all around him, the wicked are getting richer and richer and having all the pleasures of life, he has tried to remain faithful to the call of God on his life. But now he says he feels it is in vain, it is not worth it, what for? Why? He has been plagued and punished every morning. This easily could be the case with us, if we were to allow ourselves to get distracted by the ways of the world. There are people who seem to have it all, except they do not have Jesus. But so what, we live this somewhat Spartan life trying to be free of lust for the pleasures of life, because we believe in a future eternal life. Or do we? Are we just kidding ourselves? Are we wrapped up in the ways of the world, even if just a little? What really makes us any different than the wicked? Our faith? We live just like they do, except we believe in God. Does that more actually define our lives, rather than Spartan? Voices are yelling at us, look here! Aren’t I nice? Don’t you want this? Come on, it is easy, just enjoy! Watching them get it all, and we want it too. Yet it is wrong, and we know it, God is on our side and he hates there ways, he wants them to repent, but they will not. Sometime it is difficult to understand how they can have all they do, and we don’t, then we enter his sanctuary. That is does not necessarily mean going to church. We enter his sanctuary, we come into his presence, in the inner most regions of our spirit, and we understand their destiny. We do have it all, we have you O Lord, we have Jesus in our heart, and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us being your guarantee, your stamp on and in us, marked for eternity, given a place in the city of God. However, they feet have been placed on slippery ground. Our feet are on solid ground. They are being cast down to ruin, while we are being lifted up to live forever. It will suddenly happen, they will be swept away to destruction in terror. It is difficult to think how horrible their experience will be, it ought to give us pause and consider how much more we such speak out about your grace in hopes that some of them will see the errors of their ways, and repent and come to know Jesus like we do and be saved from that terror. No, we do not want what they have. No, we are not going to get distracted by all the things, the ideals, the philosophies, this ideologies of the world. We cannot live with one foot in the kingdom of God and one foot in the world. That would be like trying to serve two masters, God and money. We know better than that. We have seen provide for us all the time, and are trust will not be swayed. Over and over again the Lord has always seen to our needs, even before we needed it. The way of the wicked will perish, why we would even desire the smallest amount of their life, for what they have is but a fantasy, an illusion, not real, when they awake to the truth, on the Day of the Lord, their life will have become a nightmare.

God is Good

DEVOTION

PSALMS

GOD IS GOOD

 Ps 73:1-12

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.   5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.   11 They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?"

12 This is what the wicked are like — always carefree, they increase in wealth.

NIV

Wow, this is surely a great definition of those who live without any recognition of the fact God exists and watches over his creation. But the writer is having trouble with seeing how they are increasing in wealth, living high off the hog, so to speak, having no troubles, and being healthy wealthy and wise in a sense. He says that he envied the arrogant. He cannot understand how they have live without caring about God and have so much and live so well. They are carefree, foot lose and fancy free, while he has been trying to live in accordance with the law of God and may not be doing so well. But he begins with this statement that surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. He knows the truth and still he admits he nearly lost his foothold. At least he is being honest with God. There seems to be no hypocrisy in him. He is not pretending to be this great believer while trying to live like the world to gain all the things the people of the world gain, without having any constraints from the law of God. Do we have a tendency to be like that? Are we jealous at all when we see non-believers becoming abundantly wealthy? Are we secretly wishing we would have done things differently? Are we sorry that we tried to live by the scriptures, even at the cost of gaining the world? Ha! That sounds just the words of Jesus.

Luke 9:23-25

23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

NIV

The Greek words of verse 24 are very interesting. For what advantage a man if he gain the whole world himself and lose or be cast away. The meaning of the words translated lose and cast away are to perish and experience detriment. That is the lot of the arrogant, those who care not for God and his ways, but live to satisfy their own appetites. We cannot allow this to happen within us. We cannot allow envy to rule our heart and mind. It does not matter how anyone else lives, even other believers who have lost their foothold and are chasing after the things of the world. We must remain steadfast to the truth the Lord has revealed to us. We must remain with our feet on solid ground, on the rock of our salvation. That is not to say we are poor and without our needs or that we live in pain all day long with some illness or ill-health. Surely God is good to us and has provided for well for us. Surely we live in comfort and have many nice things, but all of them are from the hand of the Lord, and not by our striving, not by our arrogant ways. Thank you Lord for caring for us, for loving us and providing for our lives in ways men of the world cannot understand. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

Glory

DEVOTION

PSALMS

GLORY

Ps 72:15-20

15 Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him.  May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. 16 Let grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon; let it thrive like the grass of the field. 17 May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. 18 Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. 19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.  

20 This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

NIV

Again we can see this is a prayer of David over his son Solomon, yet it is also this prophetic song about Christ. We know Solomon lived a long life and was given gold by the Queen of Sheba, but it is doubtful the people prayed for him and blessed him all day along. However that is true of Jesus. The sun never sets on people who pray for Jesus and bless him all day long. It does sound a little weird that we should pray for Jesus. Most of us would be praying to Jesus so he will answer our prayer about some need in our life. It seems it is always about us, what we want, what we need, what we have to have and have it now. Our spiritual life seems to be centered around us rather than on Jesus. Although the land of Israel was and still is a fertile land, the valleys and then hills are filled with grain that sway in the breeze, and the fruit and grass. This also speaks of the church, the people of God. It speaks of the kingdom of God abounding in the land or world, and the wheat or grain is like the number of believers or spiritual descendants of Abraham, more than all the grain in the field or sand on the beach, or stars in the sky. The fruit of the Spirit flourish throughout the believers and we are clothe even more then grass in the field. The Name of Jesus will endure forever and it will continue as long as the sun. It is for certain all nations will not be blessed because of Solomon, but they absolutely will because of Jesus, that is as long as they do not reject him. Yet in the end every knee, every nation will bow before him and call him blessed. Some might think that some men can do great things, but God and God alone can do marvelous deeds. Who can raise the dead? Only God! Who can cause the sun to shine? Only God! Who can cause the earth to orbit the sun perfectly and at just the right angle to cause the seasons? Only God! Who can cause a hurricane, tornado, flood, or any part of the weather? Only God, not matter what some men say. Who can save us? Only God! Who can give us eternal life? Only God! How wonderful are his marvelous deeds. We will praise him, praise his glorious name forever and ever and we are part of his glory that fills the whole earth. In all that he created, he created us in his image, we are his crowning glory. Let us live to glorify him.

Bowing down

DEVOTION

PSALMS

BOWING DOWN

Ps 72:8-14

8 He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.   9 The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. 11 All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.

12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. 13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. 14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.

NIV

This again could be speaking of Solomon as David prays for such a blessing on his son. From history we do know that the Queen of Sheba did bring Solomon many gifts.

1 Kings 10:10

10 And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

NIV

But this is also so much about Jesus in the sense that all kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. We know that is not true of Solomon. We also know that Solomon never ruled from sea to sea, but Jesus does. Maybe we could say that Solomon delivered the needy who cried out, but we know for sure Jesus does. Solomon could never save the weak and the needy from death, unless we know for sure he emptied his treasuries and freed all the poor in Israel, which he did not, at least we have no record of him doing that. But we sure have a record of Jesus feeding thousands from just two fish and five loafs, several times. We also know Jesus saved them and us from death. Jesus has delivered us because there is no one else who could, no one else to help with our deliverance. Jesus rescues us from the oppression of sin and the violence of the evil one who would do us harm. Our blood is precious in Jesus’s sight, certain not in the sight of Solomon. Where would we be if it were not for Jesus? We would be needy, oppressed and facing a violent death. Have we truly bowed down to him? Have we brought him tribute from our distant shores? We have offered our bodies as living sacrifices which is our reasonable act of worship. We are his to do with as he wishes. We are at his service, his beck and call to do whatever he calls us to do. Yes, we have bowed to his sovereignty, his rule in our life. We do not live simply for our own ambitions and try to incorporate God into our plans. We have no plans other than his. We have no future other them his. We have no wealth other then what he has provided for our daily need. We have bowed to his plan, his kingship, and his complete authority in our life. We have bowed down, we are bowing down.

Eternal Beings

DEVOTION

PSALMS

ETERNAL BEINGS

Ps 72:1-7

Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.  2 He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. 3 The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. 4 He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. 5 He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. 6 He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. 7 In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

NIV

At first it appears this is Solomon’s song, but looking to the end it is clear this is a prayer of David for his son Solomon, but also is prophetic regarding Christ. We can see how David would say these things in his last days after he had his son anointed as king over Israel. Yet the idea of a man being king till the moon is no more either is hyperbole or speaks directly about Christ. There is more of this as we progress through this psalm, but for now we want to see if anything can be applied to our daily life. What spiritual truth can we apply here that impacts us? Certainly we have to know that righteousness is all about Jesus, for he is our righteousness. If this is the case, and it is, we need to know that we have none, there is not a shred of righteousness within us. All this is about how Jesus treats us. We might think that Solomon is the subject of all these requests or definitions of what he will be like when he is king, Solomon did ask God for wisdom, and he was considered the wisest of all men, but with all that wisdom he was still influenced by all his wives to worship other gods. He fell from grace as it were, by the wiles of the world. So he wasn’t so wise after all. He was not righteous, he did not judge with righteousness. He did not save the children of the needy and he did not crush the oppressor for the oppressor got the better of him in the end. No this is about Jesus. We surely cannot ever compare ourselves to the likes of Solomon, as he was called wise and he was very wealthy indeed and he was a king. We are more like a drop in the ocean, a speck of dust in the air, a blade of grass in a huge pasture. Who are we that God is mindful of us? Yet he knows and counts the number of our hairs. He dwells in us, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus died for us. No greater love exists. But still we should not think more highly of our selves then we should. Jesus is the king of justice, he is the royal son of righteousness and Jesus judges us in righteousness. We are afflicted and our affliction is sin. Jesus has taken that affliction and cleansed us so we are as white as snow, as pure as fresh fallen snow. What peace and contentment we find in these words which define how Jesus reigns in our lives. Consider how sweet it is to be like a fresh mown field with Jesus lighting raining upon us. He waters us, with springs of living water, the flow up within us and pour forth out onto others. This is flourishing, prosperity and abounding with the righteousness of Christ till the moon is no more. That means there is no end to our life in Christ, and there is no retirement from our overflowing with his springs of living water. We are already eternal beings filled with the righteousness of God.

Safe and Secure

DEVOTION

PSALMS

SAFE AND SECURE

Ps 71:19-24

19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things.  Who, O God, is like you? 20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.  21 You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. 22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you — I, whom you have redeemed. 24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.

NIV

We could stop and pontificate just on the first few words. Is there any better way to define his righteousness other then it reaches the skies? This carries a meaning of not having any limits, for the sky is limitless, it reaches beyond the limits of space. How can we, mere mortal man define the edge of space, the end of it, and its boundary? That would be the same with his righteousness. How holy and righteous is God? Who could explain? Even with all the words he has spoken through the prophets and all his word that is recorded for us, in order that we might know him, his character, his holiness, his righteousness, we still cannot fathom exactly how holy and how righteous he is. There is no question about all the great things God has done. We have a record of all his deeds for the people who lead up to the time of Israel becoming a people. Then what he did for the Israelites and beyond. The time of Jesus and all he did. Then God raising him from the dead so that we too have that same resurrection and ascension, just as he ascended in to the clouds in front of his disciples. But the great deeds of God did not stop there, he continues to do great things in our lives, blessing us beyond measure. Although we are not worthy, he blesses us because he loves us so much, his loves reaches to the skies. As the psalmist says, “who, O God is like you”. Even if God does bring us a trouble now and then, it is for our betterment, our learning, our discipline because he loves us. What parent would allow a child to run wild without ever disciplining them in order to restore them to proper behavior? God loves us and at times he might have to discipline us if we are running wild, so to speak. But he always does so to restore us, to bring us back into proper fellowship with him. When we are living in his manner, his ways, he honors and comforts us. We will always praise him. We may not be able to play the harp, but we can play our voice, our heart and mind and praise him for his faithfulness. We can sing, even if we cannot carry a very good tone, he loves our cheerful sound. He hears the cheer and love for him in our voice as we lift it toward heaven. Yet not only are we to praise him with our lips, we are to tell, declare, proclaim his righteous acts all day long to all who are within the sound of our voice. We know we are in the everlasting arms, the protecting arms of you O God, and we know you have already put Satan to shame and confusion. We rest in your arms, with no fear of the enemy at all. In you O God we are safe and secure.

Declare and proclaim

DEVOTION

PSLAMS

DECLARE, PROCLAIM

Ps 71:9-18

9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. 10 For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. 11 They say, "God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him." 12 Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me. 13 May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14 But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. 15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. 16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. 17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. 18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.

NIV

We might think as a person gets to those golden years of life, when our hair has lost its color or gray has overtaken it, that temptation no longer seeks us. How wrong that type of thinking would be, as we see the psalmist appears to be thinking of his older years, when he is old and his strength is gone. How true it is as we age the weaker physically we become, but we should be much stronger spiritually. Yet it seems David feels even in those physically weaker years, the enemy is even working harder at destroying him. This should give us reason to pause, in our older years. Although we may have read the Bible over and over again, and feel confident in the word for our salvation, we are still under attack on a daily basis from the evil one and we must be on guard against his schemes. Just because we are old and grey does not mean we are dead, and until death, or rather that moment we step into eternity, temptation is at our door knocking and hoping we will open it so it can come in. Temptations form may have changed, it may have morphed, appearing more sophisticated, but it is still temptation. May he who devises such worldly ideals be put to shame and be covered with scorn and disgrace. We know the end of the story and that is exactly what will happen to the Devil, the evil tempter. But as for us, we will always have hope. In fact, we will praise God more and more. We will not be stilled or silenced in our praise. We will declare your mighty acts all day long. Some may think they have not experienced any mighty acts in their lives, but they are wrong, for his salvation is the mightiest act ever. Without his redemption we are lost forever, there is no life, not an ounce of hope and all that is left is despair and depression. But we can rejoice, we can be glad, we can live with a smile on our face, a bounce in our step and a confident outlook in our future. We know our past, and it just that, a past, even those past sins, all are forgiven because of Jesus, so we do not have to listen to the accuser, he is nothing but a liar. Jesus, our defense stands before the judge and covers our guilt with his life, so the Judge declares us holy and righteous in his sight. There is no retirement from his service, even in our gray haired old age, we will declare God’s power to the next generation. We will declare it to all who are to come. Since we were but a youth, maybe not in linear time, but in our relationship with you, you have taught us. Since we were but a babe in Christ, your word has been a lamp onto our feet and we have been raised by you into adulthood, always showing us the way to live. So now in our older years we will continue to walk in your ways, and we will declare, teach the younger ones your ways. We will declare your praises until our last breathe.

Portent

DEVOTION

PSALMS

PORTENT

Ps 71:5-8

5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you. 7 I have become like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.

NIV

And you always will be our hope. There is no other in whom we can hope. Of course we know that our salvation is completely in your hands, but what about our daily lives? The psalmist is assured that you formed him in his mother’s womb, you brought him forth from the womb. This could only imply that each and every day of our lives you are aware of and actively working in. From the time of our birth, even before our birth you were there in every day of our formation and from our first breath. You knew we would come to you, although you gave us the right to choose. But because you are not restricted by time, you knew from the beginning we would come to you and you watched over us, protected us, so that we would live to the day in which we made that choice to accept your provision for our salvation, Jesus. We will forever praise you for all that you have done in our lives even before we knew you. There were so many days we could have been lost forever, near death experiences which you kept us and watched over us although we were still living in sin. You knew that day was coming when we would accept Jesus and start a new life serving you with all our heart. You knew how you would use us to advance your kingdom. You knew how you would use us as your voice in the world. You made us a portent to many, meaning you made us a wonder, a sign, a miracle, as a special display of your power. Although you have done that in our life, it's you who are our strong refuge. No matter how much you display your power in our life, we will always admit you are our strong refuge. Our mouth will always be filled with praise for you. We will never stop declaring your splendor all day long. That is from the moment we wake till the moment sleep returns. There is never a moment in our day that we are not filled with praise for you, and that we never stop declaring your splendor. This is always in our heart and should also always be on our lips. It is you who have made us this portent for your glory.