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
December 24, 2022
ADVENT MEANS COMING O how the psalmist David cried out to the Lord! He held nothing back in his prayers. Like a child insistently crying for his mother’s attention, David made his complaint known to the Lord. He would not be content until the Lord answered. Have you seen a child in such a state?
December 15, 2022
BRING YOUR WORSHIP WITH YOU! Psalm 134 is the last of the 15 “Psalms of Ascent,” which were written to be sung by pilgrims as they climbed up Mount Zion to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. Singing these worship songs made the journey more joyful and encouraged them to begin worshiping before they arrived.
December 11, 2022
DOES GOD’S FORGIVENESS TEACH US TO FEAR HIM? The psalmist asked a rhetorical question of the Lord, that begs an answer from each of us. If the Lord kept record of all our sins, our impure thoughts, motives and actions, if He decided to judge us according to that record, who could stand? The answer?
December 7, 2022
ON SOWING AND STARTING OVER AGAIN Psalm 126 described the mixture of tears and joy that the Jewish exiles experienced upon their return to Jerusalem. They were happy to return, but they had lost everything. Yet, they had seed and they once again had fields and they had the physical strength and knowledge to plant.