Month: June 2022

Posted on

Pride’s Downfall and the Believer’s Power in Prayer

Prayer and Power

Psalm 81 and Romans 1 What a mixed-up world we live in. Our nation has lost its compass. They glorify sin and want us to join them. The psalmist and the Apostle Paul hit the nail on the head: it boils down to this: stubbornness of heart. So God gave them over to their stubborn desires; they did what seemed right to them. [Ps 81:12, Rom 1:24-32] God is pleading; listen to my voice and I will subdue your enemies. But, they refused to listen then and they refuse to listen now. My heart is saddened by how what was once beautiful is now tarnished with two glaring sins: homosexuality and abortion.

What should be my prayer today and every day? It is this: that all men repent and follow Him so that they would know this truth: [Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm in Christ.]

Today pray for families, national leaders, churches, missionaries, and more. There is power in prayer!

Posted on

Mountains, Memories, and Milestones.

share about God

Psalm 76-78 The psalmist is not only talking to himself but to us as well. In Psalm 76:1, he notes that God is known in Judah. Is God known in my sphere of influence? The second thing he recalls is that God is more resplendent, that he shines brightly and reveals his majesty, more majestic than the mountains of prey. Do I see God’s majestic splendor as I awaken even though my landscape is flat, not mountainous?

In Psalm 77:1-2, he cries out to God for help and notes that God pays attention. He also recalls memories of the past when God heard and responded to his groans even when he was troubled and could not speak because of the heaviness of his heart.

In Ps 78:3-4, the psalmist reminds himself not to forget to tell the next generation about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, his strength, and the amazing things he has done. Am I actively doing that today as well as every other day?

There will be mountains, memories, and milestones in our lives. Which one is the most important to you, to me?

Posted on

God’s Blessings

God blesses thefaithful

Ps 73 Questions and Answers

Do you see a disparity as you look at the people around you? Does it seem like those who live unrighteous lives prosper while those who live righteously struggle? The author Asaph sees this, and we do as well. Why does God allow those who are despicable and unrighteous to prosper? Is Psalm 1 true? “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.” [Ps 1:1] Asaph stops himself; God is good and Jesus said the same thing!  Jesus replied to the young man before him: “no one is good except God alone.” [Mk 10:18]

So how do we handle these questions and mixed-up emotions? Perhaps we need to look beyond today to men’s destiny, such as in the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:13;19-31. The rich man was prosperous in this life, but when he died, he found himself penniless and in Torments. In contrast, the poor man, Lazarus, found himself in the arms of Abraham’s bosom.

Like Asaph, we need to see that God shows us this disparity to remind us that there is a greater blessing beyond this world and is only found here and in eternity with God. He destroys the unfaithful but blesses the faithful so we might tell of His wonderful works.

Posted on

Sharing your life story

share

Psalm 71 and 78 The psalmist is writing from his perspective of being “old and gray.” His words resonate with the aged, and he wants us to know that until one leaves this earth, God has work for us to do. Senior citizens have much to offer the younger generation about the lessons gleaned from trials to blessings. We must purposefully choose to take time to sit with them and share our life story.   How many years are there between you and the next generation–twenty or even fifty? Time is fleeting, and memories soon will be lost. We must begin to tell the next generation about the beauty of walking with God.

He has one request of the Lord. His prayer is that God allows him to remain until he tells the next generation about God’s strength and power. What is your prayer? Do we choose to tell about His praiseworthy acts, strength, and the amazing things He has done? Do we choose to teach and speak of His splendor and tell about His marvelous deeds, power, and majesty?

What is your prayer for this day? Don’t waste this opportunity! Prepare now to tell your story.

Posted on

God is a Promise Keeper; Are we?

God is promise keeper

Psalm 68:5-6 God the Father

Somewhere in our world there are homes without fathers. Children are left fatherless because of reasons too many to understand. These will grow up without that manly presence that God instituted to guide, protect and lead. Our world is sadly in need of godly fathers and men who will do what God intended.  

The psalmist seems to understand that problem and he notes that God has promised that He will be a father to the fatherless. He will be the husband to the widow. He will be the companion to the single. Today as we see hearts shattered because of the families who are in desperate need of leadership and companionship, we can trust that God will be there but also it teaches us that as covenant believers it is our duty to meet the needs as God leads. 

Where can we meet the needs of widows? Where can we be a friend or companion to the single? Where can we meet the needs of families who have no man? 

Posted on

God Hears, Preserves, Hides

God hears, preserves, hides

Ps 64-66 It is so reassuring to know that God hears our voices and our prayers. As he opens Ps 64, he says, “Hear my voice, O God, Preserve my life, Hide me.” We can go to God and pray those exact words when we face the enemies of our souls. This is such a great comfort as the evil one is all around us, and we face their taunts day in and day out, yet our God is greater, mightier, and ever-present.

There is an old saying: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me lives in an ivory tower! Sticks and stones genuinely do hurt, and words hurt as well, yet God hears, God sees, and God will respond with His protection. “the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'” [Zech 2:5]

Today you may face the enemy’s plethora of words. They are just words. Take them to God, who hears, preserves, and hides His children.

Posted on

Rock Climbing 101

Climb that rock

Ps 61-63 Wherever the psalmist is, he is in the pit of despair. He seeks God in prayer and asks that He “lead him up to a rocky summit where he can be safe.” [Ps 61:2] At the summit one can observe the enemies, the changes in the weather and your voice echoes down into the valley below. It is there that the eagle comes to rest as it overlooks the landscape for dinner. As the writer continues to pour out his heart, he is reminded of another time when he noted that his tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe. Here alone his voice sings forth the praises in prayer to God and he is comforted for at the summit he alone patiently waits for God, His deliverer; His refuge. [Ps 62:2]

Where are you today dear one? Can you relate to the psalmist? Get your gear ready and climb that mountain to meet your God.  

Posted on

Praying …

prayer

Ps 58 & 59 “Please God!”

One of the difficulties many of us have when we read the psalms of David is his cry for vengeance. For a long time, this has been a thorn in our understanding of these types of imprecatory psalms. However, one thing we should note is that David relied upon God to handle his adversity, his enemies, and even as Ps 58 notes, corrupt judges. We do not see him taking the vengeance into his own hands as many are prone to do.

Why would David write such psalms? It is to show us that when we trust in the Lord we can live fearlessly and with courage even amongst the most crooked of judges, the most heinous of criminals who stalk the innocent. This is a lesson for us to bring our most painful of situations to God and seek His answer rather than taking matters into our own hands.

Today there are cruel taskmasters, cruel dictators, cruel despots, and misguided judges who offer up cruel sentences. They need our prayers to judge wisely. Begin to pray for them. Pray that the Holy Avenger will step in and lead them to rule wisely. Psa 94:1 O Lord, the God who avenges!  Then we will be able to rejoice as David: 59:16 “I will praise your loyal love in the morning. For you are my refuge and my place of shelter when I face trouble.”

Posted on

Responding to Hypocrites…

How to handle a broken heart

Ps 55-57 How To Handle Hypocrites

King David feels abandoned by someone. This was the person who was one of the king’s closest and most intimate of friends. To show how close they were, King David said: my close friend in whom I confided would share personal thoughts with each other and walk together in the holy temple of God.

We, too, may have been injured in our hearts by someone we considered our most exclusive of friends, who has suddenly, without cause, become an enemy. They are a hypocrite, saying one thing and doing another…behind our backs. We want retribution, for we feel we are the victim. In our humanness, we might turn to tale-bearing to another, and we might become angry, or we might sink into the pity party mode. Is this the biblical model?

Take a lesson from Jesus as he faced Judas’ kiss. He felt bereft, bereaved, and grief-stricken. Yet “When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly.” [1Peter 2:23]

Posted on

Torments or Paradise

Fool a say no God, Wise men say God!

Ps 52-54; Luke 16: 19-31 Two Men, Two Decisions

In Genesis, we see God creating, and he pronounces it all good, but in these three psalms, God looks upon His creation and pronounces: none doeth good, no not one. How tragic for our Almighty God to say these words. God sees and hears their words: There is no God. Yet, Paul announces that all creation screams God is all about us, and His eternal attributes are clearly seen. [Rom 1:20] One day, those who deny God’s existence will not only see Him but understand what they have missed.

To help us understand that, Jesus told a story in Luke 16:1-31 about such a man. He was wealthy, but a poor man lay at his gate and they both died. When the rich man awoke, he realized that he was in torments. Looking across the way, he saw Father Abraham and the poor man in Paradise. He begged Father Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and begged for someone to go to tell the living of this terrible place lest they too find themselves there.

The response of Abraham is telling: even if someone rises from the dead, they will not hear Him. Jesus rose from the dead, and the fools said, “There is no God.” 

God has provided the evidence of Himself. What will you choose?

Optimized by Optimole