February 6, 2023
“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11 NLT). When we receive God’s comfort, He not only wipes away our tears, He strengthens our weak knees and sagging spirits, so that our “mourning is turned into dancing.” This comfort flows
January 28, 2023
“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need” (Psalm 23:1 NLT). David, the shepherd-king, knew how sheep trusted their shepherd with every need. As he considered his relationship with God, he wrote of his total dependence and contentment to the Lord as his shepherd. He said that having the Lord as his
January 26, 2023
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?” (Psalm 22:1 NLT). This Davidic psalm begins with the question that Jesus cried out from the cross. The NLT chose the word “abandoned” in place of “forsaken,” but it has the same meaning. David surely
January 23, 2023
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known” (Psalm 19:1-2 NLT). When David looked at the sun and blue sky by day or the moon and stars at night, he did not worship them. No, he saw
January 21, 2023
“He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters” (Psalm 18:16 NLT). David wrote this psalm to the Lord during the time when God had delivered him from the hand of Saul and his enemies. He felt like a drowning man that God had reached down and rescued. Have
January 14, 2023
‘The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do”‘ (Psalm 12:5 NLT). We tend to turn our eyes away from the helpless, fearing they may ask us for
January 6, 2023
“Return, O Lord, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love” (Psalm 6:4 NLT). In weakness and affliction, David cried out to the Lord. He felt distant from the Lord, so he prayed that the Lord would “return” to him, as if the Lord had somehow moved away. He cried out for “rescue,”
January 2, 2023
“Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one” (Psalms 2:1-2 NLT). The Spirit inspired David to write these verses describing the futility of the world’s kingdoms conspiring against
December 28, 2022
GOD CALLS US BY NAME I’m on my annual study retreat, so I’ve been taking more time to star gaze in the evenings and consider God’s greatness. Since the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have observed that there are an almost infinite number of stars in the universe. In our own Milky Way
December 26, 2022
MEDITATING ON THE MAJESTY David was determined to “meditate” on the Lord’s “majestic glorious splendor” and on His “wonderful miracles.” The miracles seem obvious enough to consider. Whatever is beyond natural explanation, whatever seems to be an interruption or suspension of natural law, so that God is the only explanation, these are miracles, are they