Psalm 91-Abiding

Psalm 91

The Benefits of Abiding

This morning my devotional thoughts turned to Psalm 91.  The human author of the Psalm is unknown; the occasion of writing is likewise unknown.  The entire Psalm enumerates the advantage to seeking refuge in the shelter of  the Almighty --El Shaddai.  The closing three verses  really stood out to me this morning.   The God-dweller will hold fast to Him in love – no fear, but a sense of love because s/he loves God above all. When I hold fast to God in love, I am not so concerned with the outcome of my circumstances; rather, I am consumed  with His glory.  God  makes promises  to this God-dweller

1.       He will protect.  2. He will deliver. 3. He will answer when called. 4. He will sustain in trouble.

       5.   He will rescue.  6. He will honor   7. He will satisfy with a long life.  8. He will enable the dweller  

             to perceive His salvation.  And I believe that this perception of God’s salvation will lead to proclamation.

As I stand  on the cusp of 2016, I will make it my purpose – my plan-- to be a God dweller.  I really want to learn to know El Shaddai  in the coming year. 

Psalm 23 Meditation

Psalm 23

When Life Throws a Curveball

I received devastating news about a friend this morning … before I even opened my Bible. My heart rested in this grand old Psalm.

                The Lord is my Shepherd …that should erase all fear

                I shall not want … this should end my lusting after things God does not want me to have

                He makes me to lie down…this should end all worry

                He leads me in the path of righteousness … this should deter me from sin

                Yea though I walk through the valley… this assures me that God is bigger than anything that that comes into my life… He is greater than my sin, greater than my pain, greater than my feelings

                 Your rod and thy staff they comfort me … this gives me confidence that God will keep me on the right path

                  You prepare a table before me… this assures me of God’s provision

                  Surely goodness and mercy …. this assures me that I have a purpose, because goodness (towb)—that which is for my welfare – in NT lingo – that which makes me more like Jesus and mercy (hesed) … that love that never runs out and never gives up is with me

                    And I will dwell (yashab)—inhabit—this gives me hope, because the relationship and fellowship begun on earth will continue into eternity.

       

                 

                  

Hesed!

Hesed!

Psalm 59

If we know anything about the life of David, we know that many of his early years were spent shepherding thankless sheep or running from a jealous Saul.  In the years spent running from Saul, David often reflected on, clung to, and spoke of the hesed  of God – His loyal love – love that never runs out or gives up. 

The context of Psalm 59 is David’s running from Saul.  In these days, David had nothing to cling to except the hesed of God.   He presents vivid descriptions of his enemies using  graphic analogies, e.g.  howling and prowling like dogs (v. 6,14), swords in their lips (v.7),  dogs wandering about for food and growling when they cannot  eat their fill (v.15). Then in vs. 16, David turns the scene from his rabid enemies to the hesed of God.  He does this despite the fact, the enemies are bearing down.

This hesed moves him to make  three declarations. He will sing of God’s strength. He will sing of God’s hesed.  He will honor God as his strength and place of safety (v. 16-17).

I am at a time in my life when I do not normally face enemies of human nature. Mine are enemies of the heart and mind. Yet no matter how dark the  night, how intense  the pain, how long the way.  The hesed of God is my fortress – my strength—and my reason for praise. 

This is the Day

Psalm 118:22-24

This Is the Day!

This morning in my quiet time, my thoughts were directed to Psalm 118.  We often quote and sing verse 24.  However, this morning I was taken with the triad of verses that it completes.  Verse 22 speaks of a Rejected Stone.  This verse is actually Messianic in its scope.  Christ is the rejected stone.  His entire earthly life was one of rejection.  The word reject actually denotes- despising, loathing, trashing.  The word rejected is a verb and is in the perfect tense, meaning it is an action already accomplished. [1] Isaiah 53 speaks of this despising of Messiah. Peter confirms the identity of the stone as Jesus in Acts 4:11 in the wake of the healing of the man who was lame from birth.  The rejection of Jesus helped pave the way to my being right with God.  Verse 23 speaks of a Redemptive God.  The action of making the rejected stone the chief cornerstone is clearly attributed to the LORD.  The psalmist adds that this action of God is marvelous in our eyes. Marvelous means that we are astounded by this action outside the realm of human capability[2] – God had planned all along to use the rejection of Christ as an occasion to draw us into a relationship with Him. Verse 24 speaks of a Rejoicing Saint.  We are called to rejoice in the day, because of the action of God in the previous verses.  The words rejoice is in the imperfect, indicating that our rejoicing is an ongoing action as we give glory to God.  The reason for our rejoicing is noted in the previous two verses:  One, Jesus is exalted and Two, God has accomplished His purpose.  Therefore I can rejoice in pain; I can rejoice in the face of loss; I can rejoice in any circumstance because of God’s actions on my behalf. Verse 24 is more than a feel good verse that has been popularized by a song.  We rejoice because of Who He is in this day!

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[1] LOGOS software. Exegetical tools..

[2] Ibid

Advent Day 4 (a little late)

Advent Day 4

Read:

Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:15-6, John 8:12

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”  Isaiah 9:2

I love the lights of Christmas.  Tonight I was able to go and view the massive light display at Tanglewood with some friends and their dog.  The dog stood on my lap the entire time enamored by the whole display.  I confess that I did describe the scenes to her as we progressed through the park.  The displays were tasteful and enchanting.  I was really taken with the nativity scene – the Magi were yards away from the stable –on their way.  Lights – we have too often associated them with extreme commercialism – however, I believe the child of God can rejoice in seeing the lights, because they remind us of the One this season celebrates – the Light of the World.

Isaiah 9:2 describes how the darkness will be broken and Matthew 4:16 further describes how the Lord Jesus was the fulfillment of this prophecy.  He came to bring light to Israel, the light of truth and peace. In John 8:12, Christ proclaims Himself to be the light of the world, the One who enables us to walk in the light so that our lives align with what is pleasing to Him.  Light also dispels dark thinking and fearful images that prey on our hearts and minds.  This Christmas, may we celebrate the Light!

Advent Day 3

Advent Day 3 

Advent Day 3

Read Isaiah 7:14-15

            Matthew 1:23

The Messianic promise that we read today deals with the virgin birth of Christ.   Isaiah states that a virgin would give birth to a child who would be known as Immanuel.  This promise was given a time when Judah was at very low ebb spiritually. King Ahaz had come to power and under his rule, spiritual life in Judah sunk to an all-time low.  God instructed him through the prophet Isaiah to ask for a sign, but in a cloak of self-righteous piety Ahaz declined to do so.  God then promised a sign the whole nation (the “you” in verse 14 is plural.  He promised that a virgin (Gr. parthenos – in the Septuagint and in the NT passage.)   He is called Immanuel, which is a clear reference to the Lord Jesus—God come to earth to dwell among men.  The succeeding verses go on to describe His life. Verse 15 refers to his diet –“Curds and honey, which was the diet of the poor;  He is also described in the latter part of 15 as choosing the good, but forsaking the bad – a clear reference to His sinless life. [i]

The promise was made in a dark hour of Judah’s history and was fulfilled in a similarly dark hour.  He was born of a virgin so that He could be that perfect sacrifice, being born without a sin nature. As we look at these verses, we can be assured that we can withstand life’s trials even in our darkest hours. We can rejoice, because the Sinless One bore our sins.  Is it any wonder that embedded in our beloved Christmas carols is the aura of hope?  We rejoice because Christ came.  We live because He lives.  God with us!  Let us cling to that hope this Christmas.

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 [i]http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2009/12/17/The-Ultimate-Sign-Isaiah-7.aspx.

Advent Day Two

Advent Day 2

I am blogging my way through Advent. I neglected to mention my modus operandi. I am looking at prophecies related to the birth and life of Christ. The theme is God is faithful.

Today we look at a series of promises. In Genesis 12:1-3,  Genesis 49:10, God tells us through whose line Christ will come.  He would be that blessing spoken of in the promise to Abraham. More specifically He would come through the line of Judah, i.e.  He would be born of the tribe of Judah.  We see the veracity of this promise in its fulfillment in both Matthew 1 and Luke 3.  Too often we are tempted to yawn our way through the genealogical passages, but tucked away in them are important information about God – He is faithful.

The faithfulness of God is a bulwark in the storms of life. It’s a pillow for a weary heart. God’s promises are for forever.   God is faithful even we are not.  Abraham stumbled in spiritual walk when he lied about Sara being his wife in an attempt to save his own skin. He stumbled when he tried to make God’s promises come true in the birth of Ishmael rather than waiting and believing.  Yet, his faith was sterling on Mount Moriah as he and Isaac took that memorable journey (Genesis 22).  Judah stumbled, yet his progenitor of the kingly tribe and ultimately Christ.

I too have stumbled, yet God is faithful.  It is through the Promised One that I have hope – I can lift the candle of hope high, because of who He is --- the Faithful One.

 Read Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 49:10