Praise the Lord!

Thoughts of you, and how you’ve changed me, fill my mind. Without you where would I be.?” (Barlowgirl) Have you ever thought about all that God has done for you? If you think about all that he went through on the cross alone, you would have a great reason to thank him, praise him, and bring him glory. In Psalm 96, the psalmist speaks of all the ways that God deserves to be praised. “Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!” (1-4) God deserves our praise and so much more for all that he has done for us. Praise and thankfulness towards God should overflow from us like a river that never ceases. When we take the time to tell others about what God has done for us, lives are changed. When I sit and think about what God has done for me, my heart is filled with joy and thankfulness because he rescued me out of the pit and set my feet on solid ground. He filled my life with peace and hope. I have overwhelming reasons to thank him and praise him. “How can I keep from singing Your praise? How can I ever say enough? How amazing is your love! How can I keep from shouting your name? I know I am loved by the King and it makes my heart want to sing!” (Chris Tomlin) “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies; Lord of all to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise!” Take some time today to think about all that God has done for you and don’t be surprised if it makes your heart want to sing!

Call to Worship

“Come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care” (Psalm 95:6-7) Psalm 95 is a call to worship. It is a call to give God the praise and the honor that he is due. The psalmist reinforces the fact that God is sovereign creator. He created everything and holds it all in his hands. “For the Lord is a great God, a great king above all gods. He holds his hands in the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land too” (3-5) God created you and me as well. He formed us in our mother’s wombs. We were designed to praise him and worship him and not only that, but we were also designed for dependence on Him. Since God created everything on this earth, naturally, everything on this earth is dependent on God. He holds everything in his hands, including you and me. Some of us are pretty stubborn and choose to be self-dependent, or self-reliant. We are so caught up in our own ways that we can’t see the bigger picture. What I’ve always found interesting, is that when we are caught up in our own ways, too stubborn to listen to the direction of God, and we fail, who gets blamed for our failure? God. Who gets blamed when bad things happen to us? God. Hmmm… Now, if we are going our own way and not listening to the direction and the voice of God, then wouldn’t it stand to reason that we are to blame? I think so. While God is sovereign and has everything in his hands, we still try to take it away from him and go out on our own and we stumble and fall. God created us to be dependent on him. Sometimes it takes difficult circumstances to drive this point home to our hearts. We need God more than we think we do. When I lost my job, I lost pretty much everything. I spent my time prior to that depending on my job and my pay check, and at the same time, I chose to let God in when it was convenient for me. So, when that was all taken away, my world came crashing down. I became angry with God and started to avoid him all together. Now, God was not to blame for the loss of my job, I was; my sinful mistakes were. As, I walked in this valley for quite a while, God began to work on my heart. The wall of self-reliance that I had built had been torn down, burned to the ground. I learned more about who I was, but more importantly, I learned about who God is. I learned that he loved me far greater than I ever knew possible. I saw the many ways that he provided for me and I felt his love through the many people he sent my way to encourage me and lift me up from the pit of depression. All of this makes me see how sovereign God truly is. It has caused me to be more dependent on him and less dependent on myself. It makes me want to praise him and serve him and love him even more than I did before. I invite you today to think about what God has done for you. He loves you far greater than you could possibly imagine. He desires you to know him fully. He wants you to depend on him and you can. God is unchanging, throughout all time, he remains the same. Take some time today to praise him and worship him for who he is all that he has done. “Come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker, for he is our God. We are the people of he watches over, the flock under his care” (6-7)

Why Do You Doubt?

Doubt is one of the biggest reasons people struggle with in trusting God and surrendering to Him. What exactly is doubt? Webster’s Dictionary defines doubt as “a lack of confidence in or distrust in something or someone; to consider unlikely; to be uncertain.” Think about it. What has caused you to doubt? What has caused you to lack confidence in God? What is holding you back from trusting God? For me, my biggest source of doubt has come from the many lies about myself and about God that I was fed by Satan. I chose to believe that they were the truth and it cost me. I was blinded to the truth and too stubborn to seek it. There is such a great sense of freedom in realizing the truth and in seeking it. My eyes have been opened to the truth and I am no longer bound to the lies that held me back from trusting and surrendering to God; from giving him everything I have. Satan is very good at twisting the truth and infiltrating our lives and our minds with lies. Our minds are constantly under the risk of attack from Satan. Perhaps this is why the Bible tells us time and time again in one way or another, to take every thought captive. Consider 2 Corinthians 10:5 which says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (NIV) Taking our thoughts captive means to take each and every thought that comes our way and shine the light of scripture on it. Take the truth found in God’s Word, and compare it to each and every thought. This will allow for the truth to be revealed. Consider also Philippians 4:8 which says, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (NLT) When we take our thoughts captive and see how they line up with what scripture tells us, we are able to expose the lies that we have believed not only about ourselves, but also about God. If we know the truth and walk in it, we will be less likely to fall when difficult circumstances come our way. When there is nothing holding us back from trusting God and surrendering to Him, we have freedom from doubt and can obey God and follow his leading without hesitation. Psalm 94, is full of questions. The psalmist has been fed the lie that God doesn’t care what he does. Rather than believing the lie he chooses to embrace the truth that he already knows about God. He fires back questions to his enemies in an attempt to get them to see how foolish they are to believe that God doesn’t care about what they are doing. (7-10) The psalmist knows the truth about God and this enables him to stand firm when his enemies attempt to fill his mind with doubt. “Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.”(17-19) The psalmist knows God and he trusts him. Instead of believing the lies and giving into the doubt when his enemies press in hard against him, he turns to God and finds hope and cheer. What is causing you to doubt? What lies are keeping you in bondage and holding you back from completely trusting and surrendering to God? Are you willing to take these thoughts captive and shed the light of the truth found in scripture on these thoughts?

Strength in the Storm

“The task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you” I have this written on a little card as a reminder that God is much bigger than anything else in my life. Psalm 93 also reminds us of this very same thing. “The floods have risen up, O Lord. The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore – the Lord above is mightier than these!” (3-4) Want proof of this claim? Mark 4:35-41, is an example of this. “As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” God is much stronger and more powerful than anything you could face in this life. He is mightier than any enemy that could come up against you. His strength far outweighs anyone, or anything else here on earth. Take comfort in knowing that there is nothing that God can’t handle. Nothing is too big for him. If God is on our side, who can be against us?

Reason to be Thankful

“When I think about the Lord; how he saved me, how he raised me, how he filled me with the Holy Ghost, how he healed me to the utter most. When I think about the Lord, how he picked me up, turned me around and set my feet on solid ground. It makes me want to shout, ‘Hallelujah! Thank-you Jesus! Lord, you’re worthy of all the glory all the honor and all the praise!’ (Shane and Shane; “When I Think About the Lord”) When you take the time to stop and think about all that God has done for you, how can you not thank Him? Psalm 92 says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning and your faithfulness in the evening…. You thrill me Lord with all that you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O, Lord, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts.” (1-2, 4-5) The Psalmist was truly thankful for all that the Lord had done for him. Not only did he thank the Lord, but he praised him. Sometimes when I get caught up in the temporary moments of my life when I am frustrated and overwhelmed, it helps for me to remember what God has done for me before. It helps me to remember where I have been and where I am now. (two totally different places) When I stop and think about all that God has done for me, I find it difficult not to thank him. I find it difficult not to lift my hands or my voice up in praise to my Mighty God. When was the last time you took some time to remember where God has brought you from? When was the last time you stopped to thank him and praise him for all that he has done for you?

God: Our Shelter

“You are my refuge and strength. You are my hiding place. You hear my voice when I call, before I say anything at all. In desperate need I cry, only to realize the hand the heals the sick, has my name written on it” Those words are written by Sonicflood in their song appropriately titled “Psalm 91” and they are very similar to the words written in Psalm 91. “If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will ever conquer you, no plague will ever come near your home. For he will order angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone… The Lord says, I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long live and give them my salvation.” (9-12, 14-16) What does it mean to make the Lord your refuge and your shelter? Let’s take a closer look. According to Webster’s Dictionay (WD), the word “shelter”, refers to “something that covers, or affords protection, a state of being covered or protected, or to constitute or provide protection for.” Some synonyms are: refuge, retreat, sanctuary, asylum, cover, security, protection. Wow! God not only shelters us, he provides shelter for us. He provides a place where we can go and be strengthened, protected, encouraged. We can find security, and sanctuary with him. The word “refuge”, according to WD, is “a shelter or protection from danger or distress; A place that provides shelter or protection; State of being covered or protected. Hmmm…. God definitely does this! Some synonyms for this are asylum, harborage, sanctuary, shelter, and haven. God is our refuge! - A place where we can go for shelter, and protection especially in times of distress. Hmmmm…. I wonder why the term asylum keeps coming up? I think it is because knowing God provides the sanity that is desperately needed in this chaotically insane world. What do you think? Yep. I think that’s why. So, all of that being said, making God your refuge and your shelter is trusting Him and allowing him to cover you with protection, encouragement, security, and peace. When the storms in life rage against you, where do you turn? Have you found shelter and refuge in God or are you trying to battle the storms alone?

Life is Short. What are You Waiting For?

It really shouldn’t take much to realize that life is short. All you need to do is turn on the news and you’ll hear yet another story of someone whose life was cut short by some tragedy. You may even know someone who has lost their life at a young age. Yet, there are so many of us who are still waiting to fully surrender and commit our lives to the Lord. Why is that? To say that I know that answer to that question would be far from the truth. I have hunches, but only God knows the exact reasons behind our motives for doing everything in this life. Psalm 90 was written by Moses and in this Psalm, he compares and contrasts the lives we live to the eternity of God. We are finite beings designed by God, who is much bigger than anything else in this world. He knows each and every thing about us, and we shouldn’t be surprised about this, because he created us. We were designed by Him with a specific plan and purpose in mind. The problem most of us face in finding and following God’s plan and purpose for us, is our stubborn rebellion. We are so caught up in our own lives that we fail to see the bigger picture. For me, the biggest thing that has held me back has been fear. I have been afraid of failing, of not doing what God has planned for me to do like He has planned for me to do. In this fear, I have done nothing. I have been afraid of what other people might think, caught up in what others say I should be doing, and held in the bondage of their limitations, instead of trusting God and allowing him to stretch me and mold me into who he designed me to be. I was created with a plan and a purpose. God has something in mind for my life. Breaking free from the bondage of believing that I can’t do something merely because someone told me I couldn’t has been a pivotal moment in my life. It has allowed me to embrace the calling that I know God has placed on my life and it has enabled me to trust Him to guide my way even more than before. If I don’t try to do what God has called me to do because I am afraid of failing at it, haven’t I already failed? God’s standards of success and failure are absolutely nothing like the world’s. God is a god of second and third and fourth chances (and even more if you need it). The world is not so forgiving. If I spend my life living in fear, or bound to the expectations and limitations of others, I am not truly living for God and life is too short for that. God has a plan and a purpose for you. He created you for a reason and if you are still breathing, it is for a reason. Are you holding yourself back from following God? Are you waiting for something to happen before you are willing to trust and surrender your life to Him? What are you waiting for? Life is short. That’s the bottom line. In the end, only what you have done for the Lord and in his name will matter. “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (12)

Creator God

Who is like the Lord? The answer is no one. There is absolutely no one like our God. In Psalm 89, the psalmist praises God for not only his amazing attributes but also for his wonderful works. “I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.” (1-2) God love endures forever. It never fails and it never changes. He remains faithful to us even when we have turned our backs on Him. Why would God do that, you ask? Well, it’s all because of his great unchanging love for us. Even on our worst days, his love for us is still the same as it is on our best days. How amazing is that! There is not a single person on this earth who can love like that. Next the psalmist praises God for his wonderful works.“You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves. You crushed the great sea monster. You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours—you created it all. You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name. Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants. Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exalt in your righteousness. You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong. Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.” (9-18) That entire passage is meant to establish the sovereignty of God and to show his power and authority over all of creation. There is no one else on earth that has that amount of power over creation. It’s almost as if creation listens anxiously for the voice of its Creator, waiting for the chance to be obedient. Hmmm, now there’s a thought. Do I wait anxiously, listening for the voice of my Creator for the chance to be obedient? Do you? God created everything here on earth. All of the beauty you see is a work of art created by the hands of God. He created you and I as well. We are his work of art, his masterpiece, designed with love and care. To be in the presence of God is to be in the presence of your creator; the one who created each and everything about you with a specific plan in mind. When things in life are tough, remember that God loves you and there is nothing that can change that. He is big enough to handle anything that comes your way. He is far powerful than anything that could threaten to come up against you. Take comfort and peace in knowing that. If God is on your side, who can possibly be against you?

No Knead Two Edit.

A gasp of air and a look of shock spread across the face of my friend and she said; “You can’t do that! You can’t yell at God!” I looked at her, smiled, and said, “I most certainly can and I did.” At this time in my life I had been knocked down and I was angry with God. I wasn’t getting my way and I was angry with God. I lost so many things in my life and I wasn’t getting anything to “replace them. I was angry with God. Of course at the time, I was completely blinded to the role that I had played in my very own misfortune. Then, it was all God’s fault. As I began to learn more about myself and about God, I also learned that God wanted me to be real with him and he wanted to be real for me. This means that when I prayed to him I would pray the unedited version of my prayers. I would tell him exactly how I feel, exactly what I was going through and exactly what I needed. I didn’t need to “sugar-coat” it and do you know why? God already knew exactly how I felt and exactly what I was going through and exactly what I needed before I even opened my mouth to speak. What is the point in editing my prayers? God wants us to be honest with him to open up and tell him what is going on. Yes, he knows it already, but this is our chance to deepen our relationship with him and to strengthen our dependence on him. In Psalm 88, the psalmist did just that. This is the only psalm I have read so far that is lacking in the hope department. The psalmist tells it how it is with no editing. “O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day: I come to you at night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles and death draws near. I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left. They have left me among the dead and lie like a corpse in the grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care. You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths. Your anger weighs me down; with wave after wave you have engulfed me. You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape. My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy.” (1-9) The psalmist was real with God. He told him exactly how he felt, even though God already knew. You see God wants us to cry out to him, he wants us to be real with him even if the feelings we are feeling aren’t pretty and flowery and happy. God already knows everything! What is the point in editing what we are going through for him? Tell him exactly what you are going through. Have you been real with God or do you spend your time editing your prayers trying to make them more appealing to Him? God wants you to be honest with him. Let God know exactly what is on your heart today.

Life in the Presence of God

Jerusalem is often referred to as the city of God. Psalm 87 speaks of the life, the celebration, and the joy found within Jerusalem. “The people play flutes and sing, “The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!” (7) The presence of God was felt in this city. Where God is present, life is present. Hope is present. Love is present. To be in the presence of God allows us to cultivate an intimate relationship with the one who created us and loves us far more than anyone else on this earth possibly could. The intense feeling of peace that comes from knowing God and having an intimate, personal relationship with him causes us to overflow with joy. It makes me want to lift my hands in praise and shout, “Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom!”

Living in Truth

There is no one like our God. He is able to things we can’t even begin to imagine. He is full of compassion, mercy, and love. He hears us when we cry out to him. He hears every single one of our prayers and he sees every single tear we cry. He loves us greatly, far greater than anyone else on this earth will ever have the ability to love us. He knows us inside and out and still seeks after us. He is with us each and every day each and every step of the way. We are never truly alone. If God is on our side, who can be against us? Just stop and think about all of that for a moment. Take it all in. Breathe in the truth of his love for you and grab a hold of it. For me, believing all these things, and knowing that they are truth has helped me to get through some very difficult times in my life. These truths have enabled me to trust God, and give him control even in the midst of chaos. In Psalm 86, David mentions some of these truths, but the part of his prayer that sticks out to me the most is found in verses 11-13. “Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all of my heart I will praise you, O Lord, my God. I will give glory to your name forever for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.” David takes notice of what God has done for him. God has rescued him from the depths of death because his love for him is very great. David prays and asks God for two things and asks for them unselfishly and with a pure motive. He wants to learn the God’s ways, so that he can live according to the truth that he already knows about God. Many of us know the truth about God, but for some reason or another we have not fully embraced it as true for us. This often times causes us to doubt God when difficult circumstances come our way and it causes us to live outside of the truth that God wants us to see and live by. Are you living according to His truth? David also asks for purity of heart because he wants to live his life in a way that honors and glorifies God. He knows full well that there is no way he can achieve this on his own. Living according to God’s truth is how we can live our lives in a way that honors and glorifies God. Living in truth enables us to see the truth about ourselves and it enables us to keep our focus on God, even when things are rough. Are you living in truth today? Do know that God loves you far beyond what you can imagine or even understand? Do you know that he is always with you? Do you believe this? If so, are you living like you do? Take some time today to ask God to reveal to you the lies in your life that you have believed. Then replace them with the truth found in God’s Word. You may even want to pray something like David did, “Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.” (11)

Are You Listening Impaired?

Obedience is something we all struggle with at some point in our lives. Whether it would be obeying our parents, another authority figure, or even God, we all eventually fall short of total and full obedience. Does that mean we should just throw in the towel and give up? No. That just means it is even more important to be aware of your own personal life and your own personal walk with Jesus Christ, so when difficult circumstances arise, you know where to gain your strength and confidence from, the Lord. In Psalm 85, the psalmist is asking God for revival. He is asking God to give his people another chance. They’ve made mistakes and they’ve messed up, just like we all have. The biggest difference is that they have it recorded for all of man-kind to see. I cannot even imagine having a book out there with all of my blunders recorded in it. That would be difficult. When I was reading this passage, the part that stuck out to me the most was verse 8. It says, “I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways.” I had to stop and think for a moment of all the times that I have failed to listen carefully to others around me and have made mistakes because of it. Then I had to ask myself, “Do I listen carefully to what God is saying to me?” While there is not a book out there about each one of us that holds all the details about all the mistakes we have made and continue to make, some of us still make the same ones over and over again. We still haven’t learned what the problem is. I’m not saying that you should dwell on your past mistakes and beat yourself up trying to figure out why you made them, or why you may even be continuing to make them. What I am saying is this: Are you paying attention to what God is saying to you? Are you listening carefully to him and for him? The Israelites heard God loud and clear over and over and over again, but they still weren’t listening to what he had to say. They were continuing to follow their foolish ways. They were continuing to stay in their comfort zone, right where they were. They were stuck right where they were because they were not listening and following in obedience. Think about it, are you just hearing God, or are you really listening intently to him? Are you repeating the same mistakes over and over again? Chances are there’s something that needs to change in your life if that is the case. Just keep in mind, that no matter where you are right now, God loves you infinitely more than you could possibly imagine and there is nothing, absolutely nothing that could ever lessen or even take his love away from you. No matter how many times you have messed up, Jesus is always willing to take you back. He keeps no record of wrongs and neither should you. Take some time today to sit in the quiet solace and intently listen for God’s voice. You might be surprised at what you hear.

Better is One Day

We can find such a great source of joy, strength and peace in the presence of the Lord and so much more. That’s what the psalmist was expressing in Psalm 84. “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God… A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!” (1-2, 10) The psalmist had a deep desire to be in the presence of God. He longed to be in the presence of God passionately, as if nothing in this life was more important to him, but to be in the presence of his Father God. Shouldn’t we also have this same desire? I have to ask myself whether or not I have that great of a passion to be in the presence of God. Have you asked yourself that same question? Father God, burn within us an unquenchable fire and desire for your presence so that we too may exclaim joyfully and wholeheartedly, “Oh how I long for your presence! There is nothing I want more than to be in the presence of the Lord!” Amen.

What Does it Take for You to Notice God?

What does it take for you to notice the Lord? When I first became a Christian, I was coasting along in life. In comparison to now, I rarely thought of God because life was going pretty good for me, for the most part. When I hit rough waters due to sin that I allowed in my life, I pretty much lost everything and God got my attention. My only source of hope was found in him and it was through him and by him that I was able to carry on. Sometimes we need to be humbled by adversity in our lives before we will turn to the Lord, but is that really the way it is supposed to be? Think about that for a minute. In Psalm 83, Asaph was praying for God to get the attention of his enemies and to make them see that He was God. “O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind! As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest. Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace. Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.” (13-18) So, do we really need to be brought to adversity in order for God to get our attention? Sometimes, yes. Should it really be that way? NO, but because of our stubborn sinful human nature, we often forget that God is in control and we are not. We forget that everything we have comes from God. EVERYTHING. He loves us greatly. He provides for us just what we need. He blesses us, even when we don’t deserve it. Shouldn’t we take more notice of all that he does? What does it take for you to notice God’s presence in your life?

God is Just

In Psalm 82, Asaph was struggling with the fact that there were judges that were being unfair and favoring the wicked. They were ignoring the poor and the oppressed in the process. These judges were forgetting that one day, they too would be judged in the presence of God. “How long will you hand down unjust decisions by favoring the wicked? Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.” (2-3) It can be very frustrating to see the “bad guys” win, especially when you are struggling. I know this to be true in my own life. I have been very frustrated at times because I have seen those around me who do not know God prosper while I struggle to get by. It is a difficult place to be. It is during these times, that if my success in life were to be weighed by the world’s standards, I would be failing miserably. Thankfully, I am not measured by the standards that this world lays forth, but by the standards God has placed on my life. This means that while I have made mistakes in my life, I am not a failure. I am forgiven by the grace and mercy of God and given another chance. The same is true for you. The more we turn away from sin and towards God, the more successful we are. God is the ultimate judge and he is a just judge, which means he is fair and compassionate. Even though you may see people who do not know God prosper in this life, it doesn’t mean that they are better off than you. Only God knows the condition of each and every person’s heart and one day everyone will be held accountable for how they lived their lives.

Can You Hear Me Now?

“Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me… But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel didn’t want me around” (Psalm 81: 8, 11) God let the Israelites go along blindly, continuing to let them live in their own stubbornness and selfishness. They refused to listen to what God was telling them through the many messengers that God sent to them. It was more important to them to keep living the way that they had been living instead of following God in obedience. Sometimes, God lets us continue along in our own stubbornness. Sometimes we are like the Israelites in our refusal to listen what God is telling us. We choose to continue living our lives the way we are used to living, instead of surrendering our lives and following God in obedience. God doesn’t stop us from rebelling. He lets us learn the consequences of sin the hard way and he uses these experiences to help us turn from sin in our lives and to turn towards him. God loves us greatly and yet, some of us still choose to run away from him and disobey him. Are you running from God? Is there somewhere in your life where you are stubborn? Are refusing to obey God because it is easier to keep living the way you are living? If you answered yes to any of these questions, God loves you greatly and is eagerly waiting for you to turn away from sin and return to him.

Repentance - Turning Away From Sin

Sin is not a lovely topic to talk about. It holds us in bondage and It causes many problems in our lives and in our relationships, especially in our relationship with God. While it isn’t a pleasant topic, it is an important one. It is imperative that we recognize just how serious it is. Sin causes a barrier or an obstacle to be placed between us and God. It causes our perceptions to be clouded and we are unable to see clearly the extent of the danger that lies ahead of us. Since not a single one of us can live a sin-free life, perhaps what is even more important is what we do once we have recognized the sin in our lives. Repentance is admitting and confessing to God what you have done and then turning away from that sin. This means that you consciously make the decision that your relationship with God is far more important than choosing sin. I’ve heard it said that we were not called to be sinless, but we should sin less. Repentance allows us to see who we really are in the face of God. Sin doesn’t make him happy, but he is compassionate and merciful and he will forgive you if you ask him to. In Psalm 80, that is precisely what Asaph was doing. He recognized the apathy that was affecting his people. They simply didn’t care about what they were doing. They were struggling to withstand their enemies who were mocking them and causing them such grief. Asaph recognized that his people needed God and when he penned Psalm 80, he realized that God was their only hope. He is the only one who ultimately could save them, not only from their enemies, but from themselves. He is our hope and the only one that can save us. “Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.” (19)

Love Your Enemies

Have you ever had to stand up for what you believe in? My guess is that most of us have never been persecuted and tortured for our beliefs to the extent of martyrdom, but this is reality in some countries. In some countries, Christians are persecuted for even owning a Bible. They are killed for sharing the Word of God with others. We definitely don’t have that level of persecution here in the United States, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t some level of mocking that takes place. In Psalm 79, Asaph is dealing with some scoffers, or mockers. Trouble has come and Asaph has prayed for God to rescue him and his people and to protect them, but it hasn’t happened yet. Pagan nations were coming in and taking the land that belonged to God and they were mocking God in the process. “Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff, asking, “Where is their God?” (10) These pagan nations were coming in, taking what they wanted and laughing at the expense of the Israelites, because at that moment, God wasn’t stopping them. Even this was a part of God’s grand design for the people of Israel. Asaph begs for the restoration of his people and the forgiveness of their sins. He asks God to deal harshly with the pagan nations destroying the land that God has given to them as well as those who were mocking the very God who had control over the entire situation. In difficult circumstances, like persecution, it is important to keep our focus on the Sovereign Lord, the one who has control over all. God is powerful. He is mighty to save. One of the verses that came to mind while I was reading this passage was Matthew 5:44-44. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..” It is definitely not easy to love your enemies and to pray for those who are persecuting you. It is much easier to pray for those who love you. Right now, you might be thinking, “Ok, why should I be praying for my enemies and why should I love them when they don’t love me?” I think Paul answered that best n Romans 12, when he wrote this, “Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (17-21) Do you have any enemies? Have you taken the time and prayed for them?

History - Something to Think About

History is all around us. We can learn a lot from the mistakes others have made and we can learn a lot from the lessons others have learned. I’d say History is a pretty valuable tool that we have at our disposal. One would hope that the history we would learn from the most would be our own personal history – all the mistakes and lessons we have learned through living our lives here on this earth. Some lessons can be harder than others to learn and usually it’s our own stubbornness that is to blame. In Psalm 78, Asaph takes a trip through a brief summary of the History of the Israelites; God’s chosen people. God was trying everything in his power to get them to stop being so stubborn and to pay attention to what He had to say, but the Israelites still weren’t grasping what God was telling them and so they went about their sinful lives, doing whatever they pleased. God’s anger was rising against them and yet, it was like they didn’t even care. “But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him. So he ended their lives in failure, their years in terror. When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously. Then they remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their redeemer. But all they gave him was lip service; they lied to him with their tongues. Their hearts were not loyal to him. They did not keep his covenant. Yet, he was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all…” (32-38) Think about that passage for a moment. How much of it rings true in your own life? Is your own stubbornness getting in the way of learning something that God wants you to learn or seeing something that God wants you to see? Are you merely giving God lip service and hoping to squeak by in life or have you surrendered your heart to him? Are you willing to throw away all that God has for you because of your stubbornness? Talk is cheap. God’s sacrifice for you was not. He loves you greatly, no matter what you do. There is nothing you can do to make him love you more and there is nothing you can do to make him love you less. Are you willing to sacrifice your life for his sake? Even though the Israelites were often not willing to surrender their hearts and their lives to God, he was still merciful to them. He still loved them. I say this not so you can say, “Oh, well if God still loves me and is still merciful to me, no matter what I do, then I’ll just keep doing what I am doing.” I say this so you can see and perhaps even feel deep within you the great amount of love and compassion that God has for you. He could’ve destroyed all the Israelites and yet, he chose to be merciful towards them and spare their lives. He could’ve chosen to never send Jesus Christ to pay the sacrifice for your sins, and my sins, but in his great love and compassion for us; and his desire for a relationship with us, God sent his son to die a painful death, so that you and I could live to experience and see just how much we are loved and cherished by him. God is obviously devoted to you and passionate about you, but are you fully devoted to and passionate about him? Don't miss out on all that he has for you because of stubbornness. Seriously think about whether or not your heart is fully invested in knowing and loving the God of the universe and in experiencing the love he has for you.

From Doubt to Praise: God is With You All the Way.

When we go through difficult times in our lives and it seems like it’s one thing after another with no end in sight, it can be very discouraging. When this happens, doubt creeps in and we can find ourselves even questioning the very character of God. That is what Asaph was experiencing when he wrote Psalm 77. He was doubting the very character of God because he was in such distress. “I cry out to God, yes, I shout. Oh that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray! I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?” (1-9) Can you identify with Asaph? Have you ever questioned the very character of God? I can definitely identify with him. I have been at the place of discouragement and doubt where I too have questioned whether or not God even cared that I was struggling. The truth is God does care when we are struggling. It is against his character to be unkind, and ungracious. His mercy and his love never fail. His promises always prove true. He will never leave or forsake you. When we are in the midst of a struggle, it is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel when all you can see is the pain and the hurt and the difficulty that you are dealing with at that very moment. In the second part of the Psalm, Asaph realizes something important. I believe he realized that his present circumstances did not determine whether or not God loved him or cared about what he was going through. He chose to focus on what God had done for him in the past, rather than his present situation. This enabled him to praise God even in the midst of what was just a little bit earlier a time full of discouragement and doubt. In this he found the encouragement he needed to keep pressing on. “But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you? You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations. By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.” (11-15) It seems as if Asaph found hope and encouragement to carry on in the midst of very discouraging and distressing circumstances. He remembered what God had done for his people in the past and it gave him great hope. If you are struggling today and you are experiencing discouragement and doubt, remember that God loves you and his promises prove true. He is right there with you each and every step of the way and he has been with you all along. If you are discouraged about your present circumstances, remember what God has already done for you and don't forget that he loves you greater than you could ever imagine.Take some time to reflect on what God has done for you. You just might be surprised at what you find.