Month: May 2023

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Exalt the Lord!

Psalm 99 Twice in this psalm, we read: “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill, for holy is the Lord our God.”  To Exalt is to raise high, to elevate. This Hebrew word has the idea of lifting high and can refer to God or man. In this psalm, the writer encourages the reader to lift God high and praise Him highly.

How do you exalt the Lord? Do you do it in word or deed, or prayer? Do you stop and remind yourself that He alone is worthy of all praise and worship? The writer reminds us that God is holy; there is no other like Him. He will not share His glory with another. The prophet Isaiah explained that He who is holy would pour water on parched ground. He will pour His Spirit on the children. [Is 44:3]

Do I take time to reflect on God’s holiness and what it means to me personally?

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Is God your refuge?

2Sam 22-23, Ps 57 God is my Refuge

A refuge is a place of safety from the storms of life. God is our refuge, and to Him, we can turn. King David, a singer of songs, composed this song which honored God for His many attributes: deliverer, shield, and refuge. Although David was a mighty warrior, he was also chased by King Saul as he sought to find him and remove him from the land. So David sings: I was delivered from my enemies.

When experiencing enemies, real or imagined, know this truth: God has your back, as we say. You may feel like the currents of chaos are overwhelming, but with God, nothing is impossible. Then, we call unto the Lord; He hears and responds from his holy temple, He energizes us, and by His power, we can charge an army or scale a wall.

What are you facing today? Follow David’s example and call unto the Lord.

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We say, God help me; God says, I will help

Ps 38 “Life is Sooooo Unfair!”

Life is so unfair, says the psalmist. He knows that his sin was foolish, and now he is facing humiliation. Like us, the psalmist feels the rebuke of God and men. His body and mind are weary, and he wants relief. Sound familiar?

So what is the prescription for these times? First and foremost, do as Jeremiah: “Correct me, O Lord, but with justice; not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.” [Jer 10:24]

As we face these difficult times, we must remember this “there is a grain of truth in every ounce of criticism.” Find it and then become like a deaf mute to the rest. As earlier, the psalmist prayed that God would put a guard over his mouth; now he says, put headphones over my ears.

 The lesson for us is this; sometimes, we feel the depths of loneliness and despair because of our sin. Go to God and pray–hurry and help me. God is ever present and ready to heal our brokenness.

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Are you Loyal or not?

loyalty

2 Sam 19-21 The word loyalty means having an attitude of devoted attachment and affection. In these chapters, for today’s reading, we find examples of those loyal to the bitter end and those who were both disloyal and treacherous. It reminds us of Judas, who was the prime example.

Joab was loyal to David and caused David to see how his outward mourning over Absalom was tearing the nation apart. Sometimes we need a Joab to wake us up to what is happening, and Joab was that friend. Disloyal Shimei cursed David yet received gracious forgiveness from David. Finally, Mephibosheth comes to David to seek forgiveness for not accompanying him, and then the truth is revealed; his master deceived him and lied about him to David. Now David knows the real story behind his absence. Amidst all this, we meet the ever-present loyal Barzillai, who proved it by providing for David’s men’s needs.

We all have those who say they are loyal but prove they are not by their actions and even words. We call them hypocrites. However, we also have those who say they are loyal, like Barzillai, and prove it through humility.

Jesus had both those who were loyal and those whose treachery would bring about his death. God knew both, and He knows both in our lives. Pray and ask God to provide you with discernment to know both.

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Our Crazy Mixed-Up World…

Psalm 40 Our world is a confusing place at times. There are those who call evil good and good evil. [Is 5:20] They substitute lies for the truth and expect us to accept it readily. If we challenge that thinking, they slander us. Yet, this is true: God is God, and there is none to compare to Him. He is a redeemer and savior. He is our helper and deliverer. Therefore we can pray with all boldness; do not delay, O my God! [Ps 40:17] Further, we can pray: “Give heed to my prayer.” [Ps 61:1] He is our refuge and our tower of strength against those who rail at us, saying, “there is no God.”  The psalmist wrote that only fools say such a thing.

But, because of those attributes and more, we can say He is my rock, salvation, and stronghold; therefore, I shall not be shaken. [Ps 62:1-2]

So today, as you wander about on the internet and see the articles written by God deniers, cling to what you know is true and let God handle their wickedness. The Lord be magnified!

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How do you see yourself before God?

2Sam 16-18 Shepherd, King, or Parent?

How do you see David as you read the scriptures? Do you see him as a sweet shepherd boy tending his flock? Do you see him as one who was fearless against Goliath? Do you see him as a man who had to flee for his life when King Saul tried to kill him? How about as a king, mighty avenging the enemies of Israel? We all see those scenes in our minds, but when we come to the book of 2 Samuel, we find that David was a man like us. He sinned, and it took a prophet to cause him to repent. But it isn’t until we see David as a parent that we find a side of him that we find somewhat unnerving, and it stops us in our tracks. We stop and ask why David allowed his firstborn, Absalom, the apple of his eye, to be undisciplined, and then it hits home. We are a lot like David, or we are that Absalom. We are that person that is envious. [James 4:2]

God put this story in here because He wants us to see ourselves with all of our warts and ugliness. It is because God wants us to see the price of our sins, not just in ourselves, but the reason that Jesus had to come to earth to pay the ransom of our sins. 

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The Lord is our Shield

Ps 3: But you, Lord, are a shield that protects me; you are my glory and the one who restores me
How comforting to know that the Lord is our shield as part of our spiritual armor. It isn’t just a metal shield but the shield of faith that we must carry into battle. [Eph 6:16] It can deflect the enemy as he seeks to find the right weak point in our armor. The psalmist knows that when he goes into battle, he must not just have the entire armor covering his body but also that shield to carry. It can be lifted and placed in front of us to block the enemy’s advance seeking to disarm and defeat us. The enemy can see the advancing army but can’t see the individuals carrying the shield.

Without it, we are vulnerable. With it, we can deflect the enemy’s arrows.

Today, do as the Roman soldiers, dip your shield in the living water to extinguish the enemy’s arrows. Then lift your shield of faith as you encounter the enemy and his advancement.

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You Can’t Go Back, But You Can Move Forward

2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Chron 20 The Apostle John wrote much about the price of sin and the cost Jesus paid for our forgiveness. While John writes to help us, the accuser of the brethren, Satan, waits for us to sin, and then he begins his dastardly work. First, he watches, and then he enters God’s throne room to accuse us of what we have done. And, like King David, we are slow to learn that there is no returning to our former state of bliss once we have sinned. Just as Nathan rehearsed God’s Words in David’s hearing, we too come to realize that we “have shown contempt for the Lord’s decrees.” [2 Sam 12:9] It is then that the  Holy Spirit begins his work to “convict [us] concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” [Jn 16:8] so that we might repent.

However,  Satan will rehearse our sin because he wants us to think we are unworthy to be called a child of God. But remember this truth, Jesus was revealed to take away our sin and remove our guilt and remove the Scarlet Letter over our heart.  [1Jn 3] so we might know that “the Lord has forgiven your sin.” [2 Sam 12:13]

Know this truth: God’s grace is greater than the accusations of Satan and our sin. Although we cannot go back, we can move forward and tell the accuser: I am forgiven because of God’s great mercy.  

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Do Not Delay…

 Psalm 32: The Blessed Man

Sin or wrongdoing is a part of our everyday life. We sin because our first parents sinned, and just like our DNA is passed on, so is our sin. God knows we are but men made of clay. [Ps 103:14] It is because of God’s love that we are forgiven, and our sin is washed away. However, there is a warning here in this chapter. When we refuse to acknowledge our sin it affects our whole body. [Ps 32:3] When that happens, God sends us His discipline because He wants us back in a right relationship with Him.

The psalmist reminds the reader that we should pray and seek God’s forgiveness “while there a window of opportunity.” [Ps 32:6]  The psalmist is warning the reader of this truth; if we delay in seeking His forgiveness, He might remove that opportunity. If that is your case, do not delay, get right with God now. Stop saying tomorrow but say today, I will seek the favor of God and seek His cleansing. Then you will be blessed just as the man in Psalm 1 is! He is blessed because he delights in the law of the Lord, and he meditates on it day and night.

Where are you precious reader?

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The Lust of the Eyes

2Sam 10-11, 1Chron 20 What do you do as a king in the spring of the year? That is the time for battle, but David doesn’t go to war but instead lolls about on the roof of his palace. Why isn’t he off about with his men? He is bored. And boredom is the very thing that Satan desires. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. David’s eyes are not on his men but on the lust of his eyes, and so the sight of Bathsheba only encouraged his lust, and so he did just as Eve, he saw, and he took. If that wasn’t sin enough, David then tried to cover up his sin by seeking the murder of Bathsheba’s husband, the humble and honest Uriah the Hittite. Today we call it an affair, but God calls it just what it is: adultery, and that is sin #1 because it puts lust in place of God. And just like that, David’s look ended up with taking a life that was pure and holy and tainted it with sin.

Charles Spurgeon put it like this: “As soon as ever we are conscious of sin, the right thing is not to begin to reason with the sin, or to wait until we have brought ourselves into a proper state of heart about it, but to go at once and confess the transgression unto the Lord, there and then.”

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