Rejoice and again rejoice

DEVOTION

PSALMS

REJOICE AND AGAIN REJOICE

Ps 98

98:1 A psalm.

Sing to the LORD a new song, or he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn — shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

NIV

It would seem the psalmist is speaking about Jesus although he writes far before the time of Christ. This does point to the inspiration of the writings by God. He surely has everything in mind and as there is no past or future with God being always in the present, he has revealed his salvation. He has made it known to the nations. We are living in a linier time frame where Jesus came to the earth several thousands of our years ago, but thousands of years before he came to earth, the psalmist writes of him. Having the assistance of time on our favor, we to can sing a new song. Once we lived in the darkness and void of the knowledge of the salvation of the LORD, but know we can sing his new song for he has done a marvelous thing in our life. His right hand and holy arm have worked salvation in us for him. He has revealed the truth of his salvation to us. He always remembers his love for us and his faithfulness, to Israel and also now to us. One day in our linier time the whole earth will see the salvation of our God. Jesus will appear in the Eastern sky, riding upon the clouds, the rider of the white horse and all the earth will see the truth of God. Every knee will bow, some out of reverence, others out of fear. Until that day, we shout for joy to the LORD, we burst into jubilant song with music. Maybe not with our voice, as some have that gift, but we will sing in our heart, it is jubilant. We have seen the hand of God at work in our life. Healings, miracles, provisions and direction. We have heard his voice speaking into our spirit, we have heard his voice speaking into our ears, and our heart is filled with jubilance for God has done marvelous things for us, in us and through us. We shout for joy, we have no gloom or doom, we are filled with gladness, and our extremely optimistic about our future, both the rest of our time on earth, and the rest of time in eternity. We can see the earth and all that is in it rejoicing, all that earth is his and all that is in it. The wildlife live with joy for the LORD, they know his hand, and they live at his pleasure and for ours. The rain, wind, sun and moon are in the hands of God, all creation rejoices because of him. We rejoice because he is God and we are his people. He will judge the world in righteousness and we have already been judged holy and blameless in his sight because we are in Christ. Why would we not rejoice? We have every reason to rejoice.

God reigns

DEVOTION

PSALMS

GOD REIGNS

97:1

The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.

2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. 4 His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

7 All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols — worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, O LORD. 9 For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

10 Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.

NIV

Although this song was written within the confines of Israel, we are those distant shores. Therefor let the earth be glad because the LORD reigns. Without being political we should still see how different man thinks today compared to how man thought in the days this was written. How many people today think of God being surrounded by clouds and thick darkness? How many people today see fire going out before him and consuming his foes on every side? Who see this lighting light up the earth and trembles at that sight? How many actually believe the mountains will melt like wax before the LORD? The idea is the people of that time had no concept of man-made climate change. They understood the LORD was in charge of all the earth. They did not every believe they had any control over their environment, but they lived in fear of God and power and might over all the earth. How different it is today, what happened to mankind? Has mankind rejected the reign of God over all the earth? Let us remember the LORD reigns over all the earth, the heavens proclaim his righteousness, all the sky, the clouds, the wind, the rain, snow, hale, sleet, sunshine, moonshine, tornados, hurricanes and the like all proclaim his reign and his righteousness over all the earth. Which man has any power over all the earth? What man can stop the rain or the wind? Who of man is capable of stopping the light of the sun? The LORD reigns over all the earth. What man can change the weather, make summer into fall, or turn the winter into spring? All the peoples will see his glory someday, even if they cannot believe it today. Everyone who has made something or someone an idol will be put to shame. We cannot afford to have idols in our life, whatever form they might be. To many children look to some sports figure idolizing them, wanting to be like them. How many people worship materialism or idolize the rich and famous, the beautiful people of the world. Do we make an idol of beauty or health? There are so many ways in which we could be entrapped into forming an idol, having an image of how we would like to be. No, we can only worship God, all other things are just that, things. All over people are just people, but the LORD reigns over all the earth. We should understand that, we should not get distracted be all the stuff, for he is the one who will judge all the earth. Let us rejoice for we are his people and his is the LORD who reigns over all the earth. HE reigns over us, we belong to him, and we are at his beck and call, his to command. Therefore we love the LORD and hate that which is evil. He has guarded our life in so many ways we cannot count them. Our task, our life has to be one that is faithful to the LORD, doing what he has purposed for us, following the call upon our life. Since we have been delivered from the hand of the wicked, since we have been saved, we have been called to be a part of the kingdom of God. He has a plan for our life, and we need to forgo our plans in light of his plans, because he reigns over all the earth. We do not reign over anything, even our own life. He reigns within our heart. He is our KING, our LORD, and our SAVIOR. His light shines upon us because we walk in his light, not in the darkness of this world, our walk is upright because Jesus is in our heart, the Spirit dwells within us and that should be our source of joy. So we do rejoice, we do praise his Holy Name, for God reigns over all the earth.

Sing

DEVOTION

PSALMS

SING

Ps 96

96:1

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. 9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns," The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. 11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; 12 let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; 13 they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness

NIV

It would seem apparent that God is above all else and he is the only one worthy of all the praise and glory for everything that is and all that happens in the heavens and on the earth. But that is not the case. Many peoples worship other gods, idols they have made themselves for their own purposes. We need to ascribe to the Lord the glory that is due his name. We cannot have any false gods, idols in our life. Nothing should be more important than God. We cannot try to squeeze him into our life, he has to be at the very center of our life, the meaning for our life. Although he is to be feared above all gods, because we are in Christ, we have nothing to fear from God, but at the same time we might do well to consider trembling just a little bit at the thought of his power and majesty. Even if Jesus called us friend, and we are co-heirs with him, it would be wise not to become so familiar, or too informal, or casual with God. He is going to judge the earth, which means the people of the earth, his creation. He will do it with pure justice, showing no favoritism. There are but two verdicts, innocent or guilty. The innocent go free, the guilty go to someplace else. Those of us who are in Christ have already been declared by God Most High as holy and blameless, innocent, in his sight. This is why the psalmist says he will judge the earth in righteousness. Jesus is our righteousness. He is the righteousness of God that came to earth to redeem his creation. People are either in or out, there is no middle ground, no fence riding, no hedging their bet, no covering all the bases. There is the Lord God and then there is nothing. But it is not just grand enough to know we are saved, and we are going to be with the Lord forever and ever. We are also to get out there and declare his reign. We are to declare to the nations his splendor and glory. We are to lift up his name. All the earth is glad, the heavens rejoice, the sea resounds and all that is in it. The fields are jubilant and everything that is in them is also jubilant. All the trees will sing for joy. Because all the earth and everything in it has been established by God, and it sings to him. He is pleased with all his has made with his hands, and that should include us. But he may also be sad because so many have chosen idols over him. We cannot be content to hide our faith from them, to exclude them from his truth. We cannot be content just letting them go about the path to perish, but should expose them to the path of his righteousness. Let the whole earth rejoice, and be glad for God will judge all peoples in righteousness. Let us sing to the Lord.

His rest

DEVOTION

PSALMS

HIS REST

Ps 95

95:1

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways." 11 So I declared on oath in my anger," They shall never enter my rest."

NIV

This song starts out on such a positive note, but ends in a quite negative way. Let us consider for a moment the children of Israel, at least that generation God brought out of Egypt. All they saw, all the experienced from the hand of God, actually seeing the sea open up for them, the pillar of fire, hearing his voice from the mountain, seeing water flow from a rock, manna fall from heaven, and quail by the thousands each day. Yet they turned their backs on God and refused to enter the Promised Land out of fear, not trusting God. That whole generation died in the wilderness and to make matters worse, they did not get to enter into God’s rest. What does that mean? In our vernacular, we would have to say they were not saved, they did not get to experience eternal life, and they perished. They were his people, yet they refused him and so they perished. Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD. We have to learn some lesson here, never to turn our back on our Lord. We should always be shouting aloud to the Rock of our salvation. We need to always come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. If we have little musical skills with the instruments or voice, we can make music in our heart. Who is greater than God? Is there anything in this world that is greater than God? There is always the danger of our making a bunch of little gods for ourselves, but he is above any gods we would devise. He made all that is made, including us. All the earth, all the mountains, all the seas, all the dry land is his, for he established them all. There is nothing more powerful, no one more powerful, mightier, and more majestic then the LORD God. This should cause us to kneel before him, our maker. He is our God and we are the people of his pasture. Let us not wander off to distant pastures in search of greener grass, for the grass in his pasture cannot be matched. He leads us to green pastures, he makes us to lie down beside still waters. Where else can we find such peace, pure joy, such security, such rest? We are under his care. As we hear his voice, which comes to us through multiple ways, especially the voice of his word, but also through our pastor, and through that still small voice of the Spirit who dwells within us, let us hear with open hearts, soft hearts, moldable hearts so that it does not become hardened and thus in danger of refusing his instruction, his teaching, his direction, his command. Let us not test him, or try him, but yield to him so that it will never be said we will not enter his rest. As we remain in Christ, as we continue to walk in his ways, as we listen to his voice and harken to it, we will one day hear those words.

Matt 25:21

21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

NIV

Come enter my rest.

The Avenger

DEVOTION

PSALMS

THE AVENGER

Ps 94

94:1

O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. 2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. 3 How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant?

4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. 5 They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance. 6 They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless. 7 They say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed."

8 Take heed, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? 9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? 10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge? 11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.

12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law; 13 you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. 15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? 17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. 18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. 19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you — one that brings on misery by its decrees? 21 They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. 22 But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. 23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them.

NIV

We see that comparison again between the righteous and the wicked. The psalmist is concerned about how the wicked seem to exploit everyone without any consequence for their wicked ways. How long will they be jubilant? It does seem that even in our world today, the wicked are jubilant, arrogant against the things of God. They boast in their humanistic philosophies. It does seem some might see the slaying of widows in the concept of Senicide or Geroniticide, which is within ones our family for the act we most use, Euthanasia. We might see the murder of the fatherless in the act of abortion which seems to have been made into a woman’s choice, rather than the man’s or the infants. So then the baby within the womb is fatherless. Does God not see all this? Of Course he does and there is a time coming the wicked will be punished. Don’t they see? God gave them eyes to see, but they are blind. He gave all ears, but they refuse to listen. God teaches whoever lacks knowledge if people listen. No matter how smart, intelligent, enlightened people might considered themselves, to God their thinking is futile, worthless, senseless, foolish, because that kind of thinking is void of God. However, we should not be anxious, as the psalmist seems to be. Even if we do get a little anxious about the advancement of the wicked, God brings joy to our heart. It can be frustrating to see the wicked go about being wicked and having no repayment for their actions. But a day is coming, and we should always remember we are in the everlasting hands of our Lord. He is our fortress, our rock in whom we take refuge. The world can be in chaos and we are at peace. The hearts and minds of the people of the world, the wicked might seem discontent with what they have and always wanting more, but we are in Christ and content, we have the peace of God which transcends all understanding. The wicked boast, but we are humble. They boast in self, glorifying their own accomplishments and indulge in every form of self-gratification. They claim knowledge is the key, but they have no knowledge of God, or refuse to acknowledge God. They do not want to have his light shine into their darkness, because they do not want to believe their ways are sinful. They refuse the very idea of sin. If sin does not exist, if God does not exist, then they are alright, they decide what is right and wrong. He knows their ways, he sees they folly, he will repay them in due time. We, in the other hand, know God and see the light he shines in our life, exposing our wrongdoing, but at the same time taking all if it into account under the blood of Jesus. In essence, the difference between them and us is that we have been forgiven. We will live for eternity and they will be destroyed. How can they believe they are going to survive the Living God? He is the avenger.

The Lord reigns

DEVOTION

PSALMS

THE LORD REIGNS

Psalms 93

93:1

The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. 2 Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. 3 The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. 4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea — the LORD on high is mighty. 5 Your statutes stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days, O LORD.

NIV

The Lord reigns, we sing a song about that. Is it an affirmation that he reigns in our heart, or that he reigns over all the earth? Could it be both? Most likely we think about his reigning in our heart or life, but this psalmist is talking about the Lord reigning over all the world. He is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. He goes on to speak about the fact that the seas have no authority of their own, no matter how much the seas might pound, he is mightier than any movement of power of water on the earth. There it is right in the face of any of mankind who think they have any power over the earth, or the sea level, or the waves, even the waves of hurricanes or tsunamis. They have no power over the earth at all, not a minuscule amount of control over the ice caps, the sea, the land, the air, or any of the environment because the Lord reigns over all the earth, he is the one robed in majesty, he is the one who firmly established the world and it cannot be moved, changed, destroyed, unestablished by anyone other than the Lord. What he establishes is established forever. His statutes stand firm, his testimonies, or divine laws stand firm. This could make reference to the laws of Moses, or the laws of the covenant both the old and the new, but in the context of the song, it looks like it means the laws of nature. His statutes of nature are firm, he controls nature by his might, his arm has all the strength, and all that is shall be until he decides it is not. His holiness adorns his house for endless days. Now we could personalize this as we began thinking his reign is in our life, our heart and that is firmly established. No matter what power comes against us, he is armed with strength. His law is firm in our life and because we are his house, his temple, and his holiness adorns us for endless days. Either way we want to approach the concept of this song, man does not reign, the Lord reigns for endless days.

Fresh and green

DEVOTION

PSALMS

FRESH AND GREEN

Ps 92

92:1 A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, 2 to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, 3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. 5 How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts! 6 The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, 7 that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.

8 But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.

9 For surely your enemies, O LORD, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. 10 You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured upon me. 11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."

NIV

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to his name. Although the psalmist is saying we should make music with the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp, it would be even better to make music in our heart. That our heart would proclaim his love in the morning and his faithfulness at night. There should be gladness in our heart because of the deeds of the Lord. Our heart will sing, and thus our voice at the works of his hands. We are the works of his hands. How great is the works of his hands. He has done so many great works in our life. There are too many to recount unless we write a book, or at least a long essay. We do sing, our heart is glad, it is overjoyed because of all you have done. We look at the heavens at night and see the multitude of stars, the universe on display. We look to the heavens in the day and rejoice at the light of the sun, the warmth, the blueness of the sky and at times dotted with great billows of clouds. We look to the ground and see wonderful trees, bushes, grasses and flowers of all kinds. We look to the joy of those animals you gave us, and the smiles those little pets you gave us bring to our face. Even the rain makes us feel your faithfulness as you water your earth. The seasons all have their beauty which is painted for us by the works of your hands to enjoy. We sing, we rejoice, we live with gladness of heart. The people of the world, the wicked cannot understand this kind of joy. They miss out on so much. They might flourish in the world for a moment, but they will also perish for eternity. Could we not help them to understand? Surely the Spirit is at work in their lives, certainly he is making every effort to convict them of their sin and need of repentance. But some will always suppress him, suppress the truth the Lord planted within them in their mother’s womb, for all men have the knowledge of God, they simply decide to suppress it with their evil deeds. Because of that, they will perish. But God will lift up our life. He will exalt us. He will pour fine oils upon us. What a blessing to know the Lord and to be known by him. We will flourish, our lives will be like a palm tree. Our lives will be as great trees bearing much fruit, even in our old age. When our bodies show the signs of age, it matters not for we continue to flourish, abounding with much fruit, staying fresh and green. There is no place for us to sit in our old age. They is not such word as retirement for the aged, for we remain green, fresh, bearing fruit, proclaiming the Lord is upright. We proclaim the Lord is our Rock and there is no wickedness in him. God does no bad thing to his people, God only does good, for God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Any wickedness, evil, wrongdoing comes from the evil one himself. But we will rejoice in the works of the Lord. We will continue to rejoice always be fresh and green. We will flourish.

Satisfied

DEVOTION

PSALMS

SATISFIED

Psalms 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.   2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling — even the LORD, who is my refuge — 10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

NIV

Any questions? This is one of those conditional situations. All the blessings, all the promises that are laid out for us in this psalm have one condition attached to them. Verse 14 has it, “Because he loves me,” says the LORD. In the Hebrew as it is translated in the interlinear it says, because he has set his heart upon me, I will deliver him and set him on high because he knows my name. What a great promise within this song. Life itself will be to the fullest, we have nothing to fear from life or the enemy who wants to destroy our life. God is our dwelling place. This earth is not. We may live within the confines of this physical planet and maybe even subject to some of its troubles, but this is not where we dwell. Our heart is not here in this planet, it is in the kingdom of God, a place of great satisfaction. We dwell in the shelter of the Most High. We rest, which means the lack of anxiety, stress, turmoil, tension, or consternation. We rest, we abide, we find lodging for the night, which is the Hebrew word here translated rest. We will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. What harm can befall anyone who is abiding, living, resting under the shadow of God. Again it is as if we are protected from the rain under an umbrella, we don’t get wet unless we step out from under it, or we simply close it. This is the idea of living under the shadow of the Almighty. We can choose to try to live with one foot under his shadow and the other foot in the rain, the world, with its system of life, or we can choose to trust God and stay completely under his shadow. This sort of reminds us of not wanting to make a shadow of our own. That is we could want to make our mark on the world, get recognition for our contribution or we could just live under his shadow, meaning we give him all the credit, all the glory for anything in our life, the good, bad or the ugly. Except, according to the promises of this song there is no ugly, not even bad. If we make the Most High our dwelling, then no harm will befall us, no disaster will come near our tent. It makes us wonder about seeing harm, supposed disaster come near the tent of people who profess to believe. Is this that divided heart issue again, one foot in, one foot out, the trying to serve two masters thing? Come on, the time is to get real. If we trust him, if we dwell in him, under his shadow, then he will charge his angels to guard us in all our ways. They will lift us up in their hands so we will not strike our foot against a stone, we will not get hurt, harmed or afflicted.  Not only that but we will trample on the lion, and the cobra, even the serpent the devil himself. He not only has any no power over us, we have power over him, because of the name of Jesus. Because we love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, soul, and body, he will protect us. We do not hide the fact we are believers, we acknowledge him before everyone, we are not silenced by anyone, we do not lie in fear of the world, or its people, we stand tall proclaiming Jesus as our Lord and Savior before all people. When they are in pain, we pray with them, we proclaim the power of Jesus in their lives, we witness of his great love. We live in a victorious manner, because we are victorious, we call upon Jesus and he answers us. We call upon Jesus, and he answers us, yes, he does, he is not silent, he does not turn a deaf ear to us, he hears us and he answers us. He will be with us, rescue us, deliver us, honor us and with long life he will satisfy us, he has shown us Jesus. We live satisfied.

Ordained

DEVOTION

PSALMS

ORDAINED

Ps 90

90:1 A prayer of Moses the man of God.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You turn men back to dust, saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men." 4 For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. 5 You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning — 6 though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.

7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. 10 The length of our days is seventy years — or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

11 Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. 12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. 16 May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. 17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us — yes, establish the work of our hands.

NIV

At first glance this almost appears as though it is a sad state of affairs. Even with God being our dwelling place, and that he brought forth order from chaos, speaking everything that is into existence, the fact remains, at least in the eyes of Moses, from dust we are made and to dust we will return. There have been some funeral services that phrase has been used. Moses was not aware of the resurrection, in fact the whole of Israel at that time did not, the blessings of God was for the here and now, not the hereafter. This is the idea Moses expresses that in the eternal state of God, our life is but a fleeing moment that in the end of that moment death sweeps us away. Moses compares us to the lifespan of grass. In our youth we spring up all green and fresh but by the evening of our life we are all withered up and dry, how sad, but it does seem to be true. The fact that Moses and the Israelites did not know Jesus, or his work on the cross, they were consumed by the anger of God, afraid of him, not at peace with him, not experiencing his peace, but they were terrified by his indignation. We do not have to be afraid of God.

And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

AMPC: Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

This incorporates the meaning of the word peace. We are at peace with God. Moses and the Israelites feared God and were concerned about their secret sins being revealed in his light. This is a truth in the sense the light of God does shine into the darkness of sin revealing it for what it is. How would we know what sin is unless it was shown to us by the light of God? If there was no light of God, we would not know that we are in sin, or that we ever sin. In the darkness, sin cannot be seen. Again with this quickness of life, seventy, maybe eighty and puff we are gone, finishing with a moan. The last breath of man might be heard as a moan. Again, how sad if that is all there is. We know our last breath will be a glorious one as at the moment we will step into eternity. They may temporarily put our bodies in the ground, however our spirit does not lie there as it transcends the temporal and springs forth into the presence of God until the day he will raise our bodies, restored, glorified from the grave and then we will stand in presence within the new city of God. This is what it is all about. His splendor is revealed in us. His favor does rest upon us, this favor is Jesus, and he dwells in our hearts and minds. We are always aware of his presence in our life. God establishing the work of our hands, he ordains what we are to do in this life. This is not our choice what we do, it is his.

Victory in Jesus

DEVOTION

PSALMS

VICTORY IN JESUS

Ps 89:38-52

38 But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. 39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. 40 You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. 41 All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. 42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. 43 You have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle. 44 You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. 45 You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame. Selah 

46 How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all men! 48 What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave? Selah

49 O Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David? 50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, 51 the taunts with which your enemies have mocked, O LORD, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.

52 Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.

NIV

This is all about Jesus. He was scorned, he was spurned, the world was so angry with the anointed one of God. The world renounced their covenant, Israel renounced its covenant with God, for the sake of their own traditions, the law as they made perverted it. They defiled the crown of God, Jesus. They broke down his life, his ministry among the people, but in doing so they fulfilled the will of God, sending Jesus to die for their, for our sin. Jesus was plundered, all his clothes taken and his robe was the subject of casting lots by the soldiers. It certainly appeared the enemy had won, that the Jews were exalted, their right hand lifted up, for they were able to rid themselves of this trouble maker, this man who was usurping their authority over the people. The High priest, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law were rejoicing because they had gotten Jesus killed by the Romans, absolving themselves in the process. As Jesus hung on the cross, he did so in shame, as a common criminal. But it was the will of God because he loves his creation so much to send his Son to experience this hideous torment for us. The psalmist may have though it was about his life, and his troubles, and maybe unaware of the inspiration of his words concerning Jesus. Yes, the enemies taunted Jesus ever step he took in this life, bringing life, and they rejected him. Sometimes we might actually forget the terrible suffering of Jesus experienced, and it was all for us. Let us no mock that act of love. It would seem we would never do that. The Hebrew word translated mocked, means to defame, to defy, to reproach. This is something we would never do, yet it not disbelief like that? We say we believe, but do we live like we believe? All the Lord has promised us, all the gifts, all the fruit, all the armor, all the power and might we have at our disposal, yet do we actually believe? We cannot be certain about others, but we believe it all, we live with complete faith in God. Are there moments of frustration? Are there times we feel defeated? Yes, but overcoming is by the power of God, he brings inspiration for the answer of those times of frustration or moments of temporary defeat. Our steps, just as Jesus’s, are ordered by God. What might seem at the moment as defeat, is actually victory, just like that moment on the cross, it was a victory for us took away all our sin. Although death seemed to win, the grave took him in, there was victory again, for by the power of God, the grave could not hold him and he was raised from the dead. This is our life, as we were also once dead, dead in our sin, but Jesus raised us from the grave and gave us life. Oh death where is your sting now? We live because of the power of God, so we should live in the power of God. Our life should be filled with his power, his might, his gifts, his fruit, and his armor, all for his glory. We cannot walk in defeat, but we must walk in victory.

Chorus
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood

Praise be to the Lord forever, amen and amen.

Faithful

DEVOTION

PSALMS

FAITHFUL

Ps 89:30-37

30 "If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, 31 if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, 32 I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; 33 but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. 35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness — and I will not lie to David — 36 that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; 37 it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky."

NIV

This may well be taking about Christ, although he uses the name of David. We know that Jesus is the line of David that sits upon the throne forever. The sons are all others. That would in include us. Of course the covenant the people of the Old Testament had with God was a whole lot different than covenant with God. Theirs were a complete set of laws, of statutes and degrees which they were required to keep. The point was to show them, to show the world man could not find salvation through works, through keeping the law because it was impossible to keep perfectly and it was intended to show mankind they needed a Messiah, a Savior, the one who would sit upon David’s throne forever, Jesus. When Israel did not keep the law, when they worshipped other gods, they were punished, God did not withhold the rod. Some people say that God still punishes those who disobey him, those who are under the new covenant. How could that be possible since the new covenant is Jesus? Either we are in or out, it is not a half-hearted situation. It is not a divided heart situation, although perhaps it is, but still are people punished because they are lukewarm, half-heartedly believing God, believing in themselves with the other half. This is an interesting concept. We have to make sure we love the Lord with all our heart, our mind, our soul and our strength. God will never without his love for us, he will never take back Jesus, remove our salvation, but we have to remain in Christ. We can do nothing apart from him. God will always be faithful to his people. He has sworn by his own words he will be faithful. He does not lie. Jesus will forever sit upon that throne, he will not be taken from his place of being the Savior. This is a forever situation, every person who lives has the opportunity to know Christ, of course, until it is too late and the end of days arrives. But until then the promise of God stands firm and the constant appearance of the moon and the sky are evidence of his faithfulness to his word and thus to us. The sun, moon and sky appear before him, we will appear before him. His covenant he made with us through Jesus is a forever situation. However, does God spare us the rod and as a result spoil us? It might be so, as long as we are not lukewarm. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. There is no rod for those who are in Jesus. There is no punishment for those who remain in Christ. There is the key. It is just like having a large umbrella the rain. As long as we are under the umbrella we remain dry, but get out from under it, and we are soaked. Even get a little part of us out from under, just half-heartedly stay under the umbrella, and we get wet. If that is the case we might as well just put the umbrella aside. We should either be cold or hot, in or out, all or nothing, if we want to remain in him. He is forever faithful, so let us remain forever in Jesus, all in, even bit, the whole of us, without any reservations, without a divided heart. God is faithful so let us be faithfully in Jesus. 

The Anointed

DEVOTION

PSALMS

THE ANOINTED

Ps 89:19-29

19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: "I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people. 20 I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. 21 My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him. 22 No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him. 23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries. 24 My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. 25 I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. 26 He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.' 27 I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. 28 I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. 29 I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.

NIV

There is a lot of verbiage about David and his position before the Lord. He was hand-picked by God and anointed with oil by Samuel whom God directed to the house of Jesse to find David. There is no question David was a great warrior having the reputation of killing tens of thousands. No enemy could face him and win, they all fell by his hand because God had ordained it. This is the man, the king whose throne would be filled by Jesus forever and ever. Jesus is the firstborn spoken of here, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. Although David was also exalted among the kings of the earth. There is or was a covenant God made with David and it is everlasting through Jesus. The line of David is established forever in Christ. Now how does that relate to us? We are not in the physical line of David, but because we are in Christ, we are in the spiritual line of David. We too have said and continue to say, “You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior”.  As he anointed David with oil, he has anointed us with the Spirit. God did not use Samuel this time, he did it himself. We are anointed by God the Father with God the Spirit, through God the Son. How awesome is that! Because we are anointed with the Spirit, God’s hand will sustain us. God’s arm will strengthen us. No enemy will subject us to tribute. That means we will not be made to give tribute to any enemy or pay homage to any enemy. This means the prince of this world, Satan, or the things of this world, the false gods. Those things will be crushed and struck down before us. The love of God is with us and through his name our life will be exalted. This is not for us, but for him because we have been called to be his representation on this earth, to be his ambassadors, his voice to a dying world. We are forever in the covenant God made with us through Christ. No one can snatch us from his hand. His throne will endure forever, but the question is will we allow it to endure in our heart forever. This again goes back to that undivided heart issue. There can only one throne at a time in our heart. This has to be the throne of God. If we knee to any of the false gods of this world, if we allow anything to take up residence upon some throne in our heart, it then is divided and a house divided will not stand. Any of these thrones of the things of the world, material goods of any kind, houses, cars, boats,  RV’s, clothes, beauty, fame, wealth, or just financial security, or whatever else there is to grab our attention. Perhaps it could be our job, or profession, or education, degrees, such as BA, MS and PHD, all are simply three degree above zero. Maybe we are being distracted with free time, or retirement, or hobbies or sports figures, entertainer, entertainment. It is so easy to see all this as just life, a blessing from God. But are they? Surely he will sustain our life. Surely his blessings must include the needs of this life. But we must search our heart and see if there are more than one throne and that one throne is God’s. We are anointed, let us live in that anointing.   

Our KIng

DEVOTION

PSALMS

OUR KING

Ps 89:9-18

9 You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. 10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. 11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. 12 You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. 13 Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. 15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. 16 They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. 17 For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. 18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.

NIV

Why do we think we have control over anything? God rules over the surging sea. If for one minute we were to believe those who proclaim control of the earth, we would be deceived. Man cannot control his environment or the climate causing a rise in the sea level. God controls, he rules over the sea, and when its waves mount up, he stills them. God is control of all the earth and all who live upon it. We are not our own masters no matter what anyone would think. God is the Lord and Master of all that he created. The heaven is his, the earth is his, he is the one who founded it. There is no big bang, no order to the cosmos unless God ordained it. He created the north and the south. There is it, he created the North Pole and the South Pole with all the glory of its ice caps. Who does man thing he is? God has more strength than all the men on earth. His arm is endued with power, his hand is strong. Man is nothing compared to the might of God. He also is actually the only one who is righteousness, any righteousness we could have is all in Christ. His throne is founded upon righteousness and justice. What a great God is he, and to think he loves us and is faithful to us, even if we fail him. Yet here it is. We are blessed because we have learned to acclaim him, to walk in the light of his righteousness. We do not acclaim ourselves as those who refuse God do. We do not give ourselves praise. We do not think more highly of ourselves then we should. We are a creation of God for his pleasure. Our purpose is to be whatever he desires us to be. We rejoice is his name, not ours. Those of the world might rejoice in their name, proclaiming their power, their authority over stuff, but they have none over what God has established. We rejoice in God, we exult in his righteousness. Everything we have, all that we are, all that we do is because of God. If we have submitted to his authority, his power, his might, his right hand, then we give him all the rights to our life. It is by his favor that we have what we do. It is by his favor that our horn, our life, is exalted. What protects our life, our shield, belongs to the Lord, our King.

Forever life

DEVOTION

PSALMS

FOREVER LIFE

Ps 89:1-4

I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. 2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. 3 You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, 4'I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'"

Selah 

NIV

This song is a very long one so we need to break this one up in bits and pieces. It is a praise song, one that focuses our heart and mind on the greatest, the majesty of the Lord. It is also an affirmation of our position of faith and faithfulness. We will sing of the LORD’s great love forever. That alone should give us a clue to as to how long we will live. The psalmist did not say for as long as he lives he will praise the Lord. But forever. Even through the Israelites did not consider the afterlife in the manner we do. They were not thinking of going to heaven when they die. Their blessings from God were for the here and now. They did not know about Jesus, about the salvation of God, about life eternal. Joseph wanted to make sure his bones would leave Egypt. The thought was not about his spirit already having left. Forever is a long, long time. We will also declare with our mouth the faithfulness of God through all generations. This might be a little difficult to do if we have stepped into eternal. However, the fact remains while we are in the here and now, we can declare his faithfulness to those younger than us, our children and grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Although they have their own free will to choose to follow God or not, it does not mean we should not still declare his faithfulness, especially to us. We should witness about his faithfulness, how he has always been there for us in whatever situation we were experiencing and how he brought us through it. We will declare his great love and how his love stands firm. His love is not shaken by our unfaithfulness. His love endures forever. It is not dependent on how much or how little we do for the kingdom. His love does not depend on how much we love him. His love does not even depend on a person accepting Jesus. God’s love is just that and it stands firm. Now, no matter how much he loves, his justice will also stand firm. If a person denies Jesus, God will deny him. It might be considered as some people call, tough love. However the love of God is firm. The next couple of lines talk about the covenant with David, that his line will be established forever to all generations. This is all about Jesus, as he came to earth in the line of David. Both Joseph and Mary are descendant of the line of David. Jesus is the love of God that will stand firm for all generations. If we want to be overshadowed by the love of God, we merely need to be in Christ. We need to be born again into the citizenship of heaven, the kingdom of God. This flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but our spirit can, if it is born again. We will all be changed, however. This body which is corruptible will be changed into one that is incorruptible. In a twinkling of an eye we will all be changed. Somehow we will have body as well as a spirit in the kingdom of God, in the new city of Jerusalem. The love of God will endure forever and we will sing his praises forever, we will declare his faithfulness forever. We will be forever, in fact we are already living the forever life. The moment we became born again, we stepped into the forever life. So with our mouth forever we will praise him. 

Born in Zion

DEVOTION

PSALMS

BORN IN ZION

Ps 87

87:1 Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.

He has set his foundation on the holy mountain; 2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are said of you, O city of God:

Selah 

4 "I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me — Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush — and will say, 'This one was born in Zion.'" 5 Indeed, of Zion it will be said, "This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her." 6 The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: "This one was born in Zion."

Selah 

7 As they make music they will sing, "All my fountains are in you."

NIV

In the natural realm this song is all about Jerusalem, the holy mountain, the city built on the mountain of Zion. There is all the records of all these people and places throughout the Old Testament and there is reference made to those who were born in Jerusalem. But there is more here than meets the natural eye. The idea of keeping a record, of the Lord writing in the register of the peoples, reminds us of the book of life. It will hold the names of those born in Zion, which is those who are born again into the kingdom of God, into his Most Holy city, or kingdom. Our names will be spoken, this one is born in the kingdom of God. In the place the Most High has established, the new city of Jerusalem that will come down from heaven. The physical city itself which this song writer may have known, was destroyed several times, and rebuilt. What stands today in not what was, but is built upon the remains of the past. The actual street that Jesus walked are buried beneath ruble which the current city sits upon. So this Jerusalem could very well be the one coming down from heaven, the one we have been born in, as we became born again of the spirit, by the power of God. Our names are written down in the book of life and will be called out as one born in Zion. There will be a time as if in a graduation we will stand or even walk across something as God, or Jesus, or even one of the angels calls out our name as it is written in the book of life. It could be the name we are known by in the here and now, or it could be that new name we will be given. But God will make it known we have been born again, we are in his holy city. We will make much music, singing his praises, for our sin is forgiven, our faith is now real, and we are in the very presence of God. How glorious that will be, when Jesus we will see, when he calls us by name. We will sing, make music about the fact all our fountains, or springs, or source of satisfaction as the Hebrew word implies. All the springs of living water we have are in you O Lord. Everything springs forth from you. You have caused us to be born in Zion.

Part four, Comforted

DEVOTION

PSALMS

COMFORTED

Ps 86

86:1 A prayer of David.

Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, or I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.  

14 The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life — men without regard for you. 15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.   17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

NIV

Day four, part four, the last stanza. We have seen how poor and needy we are. We have seen it is God who brings us joy. We have seen he is forgiving and good and that he is abounding in love to us because we called to him. We have seen there is none like him, we know that for sure. We have asked to be taught by him, by the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth. We have seen that we cannot, should not have a divided heart that we should worship whole-heartedly. We have seen and know that it is he who has delivered us from the grave, which means we have eternal life. Now we have to deal with the arrogant who attack us, a band of ruthless men who seek our life. There may not actually be anyone seeking to kill us, other than Satan and his band of demons. He certainly is arrogant, thinking he was greater than God. So this angel Lucifer was cast down here and he has been after anyone who turns to God. But there may also be some arrogant people who attack us as well. Those are the ones who think there is no God, or that they are greater than him. They think we have an effect on our environment and that they have the answers to fit it. How arrogant to discount God. There are those who believe it is their abilities which they are responsibility for having, their knowledge, or their skills, wealth, and fame. God is the bringer of all good things. How arrogant of them to discount God. No matter how much anyone attempts to destroy our faith, try to convince us there is no God or that he is just some supernatural entity, a force, natural, as in mother natural, or that he is non-gender and any of those arrogant philosophies of man that discount who God is, we will not waver in our faith. He is compassionate and gracious. Although they are arrogant, he is slow to anger, he would have them call on him, and his love extends to all of his creation. Jesus did not die just for a few elect people, he died for the whole world, all of mankind so they might be saved, if they but call on him. His love abounds to all men, and his is faithful to his word. If people would confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus was raised from the dead, they will be saved.

Rom 10:9-11

9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 1

NIV

So we continue to seek the Lord, his mercy on us for there are the arrogant who would do us in, especially that most arrogant Lucifer who we now know as Satan. Yet among men who discount God, we seek a sign from heaven to show them God is God. God has already given us a sign of his goodness. He has enlightened us, brought us out of the darkness and into his light. Our lives are a sign of his goodness. We live our life of goodness in the face of our adversaries, they can see our faith, our goodness, our joy, our love, peace and patience. They can see our gentleness and faithfulness as well as our self-control. They can see the fruit of the Spirit all over us and know that God is who is says he is because of his working in us, for their benefit. Although they may believe they are “good people” they can see God in us and know they are not. Because of the Spirit, they will be shown their sin and be put to shame, not to be destroyed, but in hopes they will turn, like we did, and call upon him. It is God, the Lord who has helped us, he has shown his great mercy on us and we will be thankful forever, because he has comforted us.

Part three, Teach me

DEVOTION

PSALMS

TEACH ME

Ps 86

86:1 A prayer of David.

Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.  

14 The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life — men without regard for you. 15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.   17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

NIV

Day three, part three and we are looking about being taught his ways. In all reality is there anyone who can teach us his ways other than him? Although we hear sermons from our pastor and he expounds on the word of God and exposes truths within, the Spirit reveals the truth to us. We might hear one of the great media preachers and get more insights, but it is the Spirit within who reveals the truth. We could read some book by one of the prolific writers of our time that explains something about the scriptures, but it is the Spirit within who reveals the truth. The Lord is who teaches us his ways. All the sermons, books, or other methods of absorbing information about the ways of the Lord might give us a moment to pause and reflect, but when the Lord teaches us is when we will walk in his truth. This is the central theme about not having a divided heart, so we can revere him and his name. What does a divided heart look like? It seems simple enough to understand. It looks like that trying to serve two masters. We give God part of our heart, but we want the other part for our own desires. We want that free will to decide what we want to do, where we want to live, where we want to work,  what type of career we have, when we want to retire, how much we want to have, both money and material goods. But the free will was only good for one ticket, which was the free will to choose God, or refuse him. Once we choose God, by our free will, we submitted it him. That ticket was punched and our will now is in submission to his will. He is our Lord and Master, our King, our Sovereign. This is the idea of praising you, O Lord my God with all my heart. That means all, not part, not some, not with a divided heart. We will praise God, only God and we will do that with an undivided heart for he alone can teach us his ways and he alone can save us. What in this world can offer us what God offers? Although salvation is a great reward, when we just look at what we get from accepting Jesus. It still is making everything about us. Our reward, our salvation, Jesus is mine, Oh what a foretaste of Glory divine. No, it is about his ways. We learn to walk in his truth from God himself. The idea is that we are his and he teaches us how to walk in his ways, so that we are being in him. Yes, he is our God, but more importantly we are his people. We belong to him, he does not belong to us. Life should be God centered, not people centered. We will glorify his name for indeed he has delivered us from the grave. Yet not just to live forever for ourselves, but so we will praise him forever. Teach me your ways, Oh Lord.

Part Two, You and you alone

DEVOTION

PSALMS

YOU AND YOU ALONE

Ps 86

86:1 A prayer of David.

Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord,I lift up my soul.

5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.  

14 The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life — men without regard for you. 15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.   17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

NIV

Day two in this song which has so much about the Almighty God, our Lord and Savior. He is forgiving and good. How could we ever live if our sins were not forgiven? But they are, even David understood that God forgave sin. But we have even a greater understanding because we have Jesus who took our sin upon himself. God does not desire to hold us accountable for our sin.

Rom 4:7-8

7 "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."  

NIV

Because of God's abounding love for those who call upon him, Jesus covers our sin. God will never count our sin against us. Now that does not mean we should go about sinning as much as we can, just because it seems like we could. But the fact is as hard as we try not to sin, we are still going to fail at perfection. So then when we do, we call upon God, we seek forgiveness, we make every effort to repent of that attitude, that type of response, that certain behavior that keeps creeping back into our life. In reality all of them are a decision of our will, we decide to commit that sin. We can’t help ourselves as hard as we try, we are subject, almost prisoners to this flesh. Now Hear our cry O Lord, have mercy on us. When we are in trouble, when the tempter is beating down our door, when we feel weak and vulnerable, we call upon you and you hear and answer us. You do not turn away or turn a deaf ear. You are there to talk to us, to give us your voice, your answer for our need. Who else is like you O Lord, who forgives our sin? Who else would love us that much? Who would consider us worthy enough to save? Who can compare to you, to your deeds, your salvation? It seems, at least at the moment, many nations refuse to acknowledge you as God. Many nations worship other gods, even in our nation other gods are present and served. We should learn a lesson from that, and not be tempted to even look at anything as an idol, or god. Yet our youth are being deceived, even some of us, making an idol of some sports figure, an icon of athleticism, or some movie or television personality or entertainer. Then there are all the things, we can so easily get entrapped by. It becomes so easy to boast of our things, or how many places we have traveled to, or on the other hand, how good of steward we are. There are so many ways we can be sucked into the pit of self-indulgence and/or self-aggrandizement. We can even become prideful, even knowing God opposes the proud,

1 Peter 5:5

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."  

NIV

So we, the nation of God, the citizens of the kingdom of God, will come and worship you, and we will humble ourselves before you.  Someday all the other nations will have to bow their knee before you, because you are God. All their gods will fail them, all their gods are nothing but idols of stone and metal, they cannot answer, they have no voice. They cannot forgive sin, they only serve as an image to worship, You, O Lord are far more than an image; you are the Living God. You alone can do great and marvelous deeds. All the other gods can do nothing. You alone are God. We will proclaim that you are God, you and you alone.