Psalm 114:4 - God's power over the physical earth

the mountains leaped like rams,
     the hills like lambs.

Psalm 114 is surely one that was a favorite with children. It is short and includes phrases like the verse for today. The premise is the joy the Lord displayed when his people left Egypt and his power over the physical earth. I have often said. God has complete control over the physical earth. We think of a rock as a hard, unchangeable object, but for God, it can become a pool of water ( v.8) The things we think of as impossible are not just possible, but easy for God.

Lord, thank you for demonstrating for us your control over the earth. Please help us to give you control of all areas of our earth and life. Amen.

Psalm 102:25-26 - What is reality?

In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
     and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
     they will all wear out like a garment.
 Like clothing you will change them
     and they will be discarded.

We place a lot of faith in this world, on this earth. We rely on what we see and know, what we can touch and feel. This is reality...for now. But this is not reality for God. God's reality is so much more than we can imagine. This world is just here today and gone tomorrow, like a garment that is worn a while, then thrown out. The questions from here get so big, my brain can hardly formulate them,

Lord, thank you for the mystery of you. Please help us to look beyond our daily reality and know that your reality is more than we can fathom. Amen.

Psalm 61:4 - Home

I long to dwell in your tent forever
     and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.

I want to go home. It is a phrase which means so many things. Sometimes home means an actual place. Other times it means family or a comfortable feeling. Home is something we all long for. Our true home is in heaven. There is nowhere on this earth which can compare. "This world is not my home, I just am passing through."

Lord, thank you for giving us a taste of home here on earth so we know what to look forward to in heaven. Please help us to always remember our true home is with you. Amen.

Psalm 49:16 - You can't take it with you

Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
     when the splendor of their houses increases;

Verse 17 completes the thought above "for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them." (I just saw the word "descend", hmmm) Sometimes I have trouble with jealousy. By the standards of the world, I am rich. By the standards of America, lower middle class. For a while I felt rich, we were out of debt and even had a pretty big emergency fund. Now we are back in debt again, Yuck. It is hard to not be overawed and jealous of those with more than you, but we have to remember, this earth is temporary. It will all go away. It is our relationship with God, not our possessions which will determine our eternal destination.

Lord, thank you for reminding us of the temporary nature of this world. Please help us to not be overawed when others grow rich. Amen.

Psalm 24:1 - Amen

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
     the world, and all who live in it;

Amen.