September 12, 2023
“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4 NLT). David knew what to do when he felt afraid. He had already decided in advance
September 11, 2023
“Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” (Psalm 55:22 NLT). Who carries your burdens? Are you trying to carry them alone? Why would you keep laboring under such a weight when the Lord offers to take care of you?
September 7, 2023
“Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just” (Psalm 51:4 NLT). David wrote this psalm in repentance after committing adultery with Bathsheba. Although he surely recognized he had sinned against
September 4, 2023
“O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple” (Psalm 48:9 NLT). Meditating on God’s “unfailing love” is an appropriate act of worship. What kind of love is this? The Hebrew word is “chesed,” which may be translated “lovingkindness” or “covenantal love.” In the Greek New Testament, the word “agape”
August 29, 2023
“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!” (Psalm 43:5 NLT). There are at least two ways of understanding this Scripture. The first is to view the psalmist as truly questioning the source of his feelings
August 27, 2023 | Psalm 32:1-5 |
We want to please God, but still have sin areas that cause us to feel guilty and defeated or past sin areas that we still feel guilty about. This robs us of living the blessed life, the happy life.
What is guilt? It’s that feeling of shame and regret we feel over a sinful attitude or behavior. It can be appropriate guilt when we are indeed responsible for an offense and feel remorse for it. Or it can be false guilt when we feel responsible for something that we had no control over, yet still feel we could’ve prevented in some way. Guilt feels heavy, like baggage that we carry with us. It fills us with shame and regret.
Some will try to help us deal with our guilt by trying to convince us that we shouldn’t feel guilty. But the Bible tells us that the reason we feel guilty is because we are guilty! But it also tells us how to give it to God! In David’s Psalm 32, he described how confessing his guilt led to living under God’s blessing. We can understand how confessing our guilt leads to living under God’s blessing.
August 20, 2023 | Psalm 27:1-11 |
Jesus says that gentleness is the path to greatness and that meekness is the path to blessing. Yet meekness is probably one of the least admired qualities in America. We admire strength, not humility. We admire those who take charge, not those who surrender control to God. This might partly be because we don’t understand what meekness is.
In David’s Psalm 37, he instructed the people of God that living meekly, surrendering control to God, leads to a life of blessing. We can surrender our control to God to experience His blessing.
August 12, 2023
‘The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you”‘ (Psalm 32:8 NLT). David reminds us in this psalm that the Lord offers to lead, guide, and direct us. He says don’t be like a mule that needs a bit and bridle to
August 9, 2023
“I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.” (Psalm 31:7 NLT). This Psalm of David teaches us to choose gladness and worship, while giving our troubles to God. David wrote that God had seen his trouble. In other
August 4, 2023
“The LORD is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” (Psalms 27:1 NLT). David wrote these powerful declarations of confidence in the Lord, revealing how he faced his fears. He wrote them as rhetorical questions, challenging himself