Psalm 82:1 - A verse for TODAY!!

God presides in the great assembly;

     he renders judgment among the “gods”:

This is a very timely verse. I was a little confused by this psalm, so I checked on some commentaries to help me out. In the verse above "gods" refer to human rulers and judges. This verse reassures us that God is in control. Those in power answer to a higher power, a judge of judges. The rest of Psalm 82 gives instruction to those in power and reminds them of how little they know. Verse 5 states: “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken." Sounds like our current election situation...

Lord, Thank you for presiding over the "gods" of this earth. Please help our rulers and judges. Amen.

Psalm 81:11-12 - Does God give up on us?

“But my people would not listen to me;
     Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
     to follow their own devices.

God gives us free will. He lets us choose if we are going to follow him or not. In the form of friends, family members and kind strangers, he comes to us, sharing the good news of Christ sacrifice for our sins. As with the Israelites in this Psalm, his pursuit of us will cease and he will allow us to make our choice and do what we want. The door remains open, but we have to walk through it.

Lord, thank you for giving us chance after chance to come to you. Please help us to seek a relationship with you. Amen.

Psalm 80:3, 7 & 19 - Routine maintenance

Restore us, O God;
     make your face shine on us,
     that we may be saved.

This verse is repeated three times in this Psalm, probably sort of like a chorus. I think is is appropriate for it to be repeated because we are in constant need of restoration. I have learned this lesson the hard way in the restoration of our house. We have been very neglectful of  routine maintenance on our house over the last 10 years or so. We are paying the price now. We are not just painting walls and redoing floors, we are having to rebuild some walls, floors, roofs and ceilings because we did not make it a point to constantly restore our home. Our lives are this way. If we regularly ask God for restoration and forgiveness, if we stay in regular contact with him, our relationship with him will mature and strengthen. If we let things go, we will have to do some tearing down and rebuilding.

Lord, thank you for your constant restoration. Please help us to come to you often and allow us to mature and strengthen. Amen.

Psalm 79:9 - For God's glory

Help us, God our Savior,

     for the glory of your name; 

deliver us and forgive our sins

     for your name’s sake.

It's all about bringing glory to God, even asking for help and forgiveness is about God's glory. 

Lord, thank you for helping us and forgiving us. Please let this bring glory to your name. Amen.

Psalm 78:38-39 - Mercy

Yet he was merciful;
     he forgave their iniquities
     and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
     and did not stir up his full wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh,
     a passing breeze that does not return.

Time and again the Israelites disappointed God. Over and over they were unfaithful and rebellious. They constantly complained and sinned. Sounds like us. Thankfully, God is merciful. He understands we are human. He knows our short-comings better than we do. God has a plan to deal with our sin. Jesus Christ, his son, came to the earth and died on a cross, taking on all our sins. One perfect sacrifice. We only have to recognize our sin and accept this gift of mercy through baptism. Even as a Christian we will continue to sin, but God;s Spirit will live in us and help us to grow more like Christ every day.

Lord, thank you for your perfect plan of mercy. Please help us to sin less often. Amen.

Psalm 78:4 - Heritage of faith

We will not hide them from their descendants;
     we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
     his power, and the wonders he has done.

The first 8 verses of  the 78th Psalm emphasize the importance of telling the next generation the amazing deeds God has done. As a follower of God, it is our responsibility to continue this "heritage of faith." It is a blessing to our children to teach them the stories of the Bible. We all have stories of the amazing deeds God has done in our lives to share.  How amazing to see our children, or others we have taught, become our brother or sister in Christ!

Lord, thank you for those who shared their faith with us. Please help us to pass it on. Amen.

Psalm 77:12 - When in doubt...

I will consider all your works
     and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

Psalm 77 begins with doubt. David can't sleep and is in distress. He asks God if he has left. But the remedy to this is to meditate on God's miracles and mighty works. David thinks about the ways in which God has saved his people in the past. We can do the same thing. If we are worried or doubtful, think about the ways he has helped you in the past. Remember a time when he performed a miracle in your life. If you don't have this kind of history with God, find someone who does and allow their faith to teach you and lead you to Christ.

Lord, thank you for giving us a solution for doubt. Help us to meditate on your mighty deeds. Amen.

Psalm 76:11 - Follow through

Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;
     let all the neighboring lands
     bring gifts to the One to be feared.

We so often think about our needs and what we need God to do for us. Here we are challenged to think about what we can offer God. What vows can we make to him? Have we pledged a certain amount of money to offer each week? Have we planned to study the bible each day? Have we committed to helping a person or organization? Think about what you can offer God, make a plan and vow to do it, then follow through.

Lord, thank you for all you have given us. Please help us fulfill the vows we make to you. Amen.

Psalm 75:6-7 God is the judge

No one from the east or the west
     or from the desert can exalt themselves.
It is God who judges:
     He brings one down, he exalts another.

We must always remember, our final destination beyond this earth will be decided by God. Our relationship with him is the single most important relationship we have.

Lord, thank you for wanting us to be with you. Help us to always seek you. Amen.

Psalm 74:13-14 - Sea monsters?

It was you who split open the sea by your power;
     you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
     and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

These are verses on my list to ask God about in heaven. Sea monsters, really? Maybe, maybe not Psalm 74 is primarily about Israel feeling rejected by God, but then they remember how God saved them by rescuing them from the Egyptians. How he opened the Red Sea so they could go across, then destroyed the Egyptian army by allowing the water to close back in and drown them. The Egyptians are the monster, the leviathan in figurative language. And perhaps the dead bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the shore (Exodus 14:30) where they were eaten by animals...not sure about that one.

Lord, thank you for the mysteries of your word. Please keep us always seeking after you. Amen.

Resource: http://biblehub.com/commentaries/psalms/74-13.htm

Psalm 73:2-3 - Jealousy

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
     I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant
     when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Psalm 73 is about envy. As a servant of God, I diligently work to keep my heart pure (v. 13), yet all around I see the wicked live lives of ease and prosperity. This is the situation David describes in this psalm. He goes on to explain that in God, we understand their final destiny (v.17). It is easy to look at others from the outside and be jealous of their situation, it's the "Compare and Despair" problem.

Lord, thank you for giving us assurance of our final destiny. Please help us to remain focused on you and not compare our lives with others. Amen.

Psalm 72:1 - Pray for our leaders

Endow the king with your justice, O God,
     the royal son with your righteousness.

Psalm 72 is a prayer for David as King and the land he rules over. Such a perfect leader in a perfect land is described, this must be a prophecy about Jesus. This verse made me think about our current political situation with an upcoming presidential election, Regardless of the winner, God can use anyone. We must pray for our leaders to be just and righteous and for the safety and prosperity of our nation.

Lord, thank your for giving us a beautiful example of a perfect leader. Please help us to pray for our leaders and our land. Amen.

Psalm 71:20 - Choosing peace in the chaos

Though you have made me see troubles,
     many and bitter,
     you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
     you will again bring me up.

This weekend I went to a Ladies Day with the theme of "Choosing Peace in the Chaos." I really needed this last night when dealing with home restoration issues. I allowed myself to get so down and depressed, until I realized, I have a choice of how I react to this. I have been working on seeing the blessing within every problem. The fact that I am having problems with our home restoration means I have a house. If I am complaining about my job, I need to remember what a blessing it is to have a job. When I am complaining about the struggles I have overeating, remember I am not struggling to get enough to eat. We will have troubles, but God restores us.

Lord, thank you for restoration. Please help us to choose peace in the chaos. Amen.

Ephesians 1:16 - A new study

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

One of my sisters suggested we have a weekly Bible study. We live in different cities, so we do this by conference call. So far in our "study" we have pretty much just caught up with each other, occasionally throwing in something we have been studying. Last week we reminded ourselves we wanted to do a Bible study, not just chat. We decided to study Ephesians, a chapter each week, then we will have a specific focus for our study. Today I am giving thanks for my sisters and remembering them in my prayers!

Lord, thank you for sisters. Please speak to each of us in our study. Amen.

Psalm 71:14 - Hope

As for me, I will always have hope;
     I will praise you more and more.

The other day I was in a conversation about the difference between hope and confidence. The difference came down to control. If I can control a situation, I can have confidence in the result. Hope is something we have if we can't control the situation, but hope for a certain result. With God, we may not have control over a situation, but our hope is sure because of his power. Because of him we can always have hope.

Lord, thank you for giving us hope. Help us to praise you more and more. Amen.

Psalm 70:4 - Amen

And the Church said...Amen.

Psalm 69:17 - Help me, quick!

Do not hide your face from your servant;
     answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.

There are times when we need help and we need it now! We understand that things happen in God's time, but since David called out in this manner, it sounds like God doesn't mind when we ask for something to happen quickly.

Lord, thank you for understanding us better than we understand ourselves. Please help us to always rely on you for our help. Amen.

Psalm 69:5 - My sin

You, God, know my folly;
     my guilt is not hidden from you.

We all have our sins, our addictions, our temptations, our follies. As I have discussed before, I have food issues. In the past I have been hesitant to call this sin, but I think it may be time to call it what it is: sin. Why is it so hard to resist? Why can't I just say no to the donuts in the break room or what ever is available? Why do I feel cheated if I go out to a restaurant and order a healthy meal? Why can't I stop after eating a reasonable sized portion of food? Well, God knows my folly. He sees my guilt and thankfully, offers forgiveness.

Lord, thank you for knowing us, loving us, and forgiving us. Please help us to stop sinning. Amen.

Psalm 68:19 - Ready to listen, anytime

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
     who daily bears our burdens.

Who do you talk to when you need to vent and share your problems? Do you have a good friend or family member who listens to you? Do you go to a counselor or therapist to "unload" on a weekly basis? These are all good solutions, but friends and family members can get weary of hearing us complain and a counselor is only there to listen at certain times. The ultimate solution is God. We can go to God any time. He is always ready to listen. He will bear our burdens.

Lord, thank you for listening to us and bearing our burdens. Please help us to come to you when we need share our problems. Amen.