Many of us appreciate the Psalms because we identify with the emotions of the writers as they experience difficult times of life. We know how they feel, and their words really connect with our hearts when we are burdened with concerns and issues of our own life situations.
But there is a Psalm that is overflowing with joy, and that actually is a prayer of David for the success and victory of the people of God. In Psalm 20, we have an explosion of grace and praise as he prays for the victory and well being of God's people and that's what I want to draw attention to for you as you read these words today.
The prayer is for God to answer us in a day of trouble, which we are living in today. Our times are troubling there's no question about that. But he prays that when we experience personal trouble and sorrows that God will quickly answer our prayer and meet our needs. He prays that God will send help from the sanctuary in which He dwells. I thought about that sanctuary, it is a place of inexpressible light, power, grace, mercy, love and perfection, and of course God Himself, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. From that holy place, may God send forth His help to us as we call upon Him. In humility and faithful patience, we know that He who promised is faithful, and will do more than we can imagine on our behalf. It gives us great reason to rejoice and to believe that God will find our offerings, our prayers, our times of worship acceptable because of what Jesus Christ has done for us by granting mercy and forgiveness for our sins.
We do not boast in our efforts, we do not boast in our strength or riches, or any wisdom we may have gained, but boast in His Name. Our trust is in Him alone, and as many of us can attest, He has never disappointed us. Our help comes from God and from the city of God where all the splendor of the merciful yet mighty God dwells. Our worship and prayers take place here on Earth in the sanctuaries of our churches, but those offerings ascend to the heavenly sanctuary, from where God pours out His Spirit, grace, and mercies each day.
So, if there's trouble in your life today, take heart. There is strength and help available from the heavenly sanctuary of God. Call upon Him and as you do be assured that as David prayed for your good success, I am too, as are millions of believers around this troubled world. May God send you help from the sanctuary today!
Friday, April 20, 2018
Friday, April 13, 2018
Face The Whirlwind
Today I cant help but remember the words of Hosea when he said the phrase, "For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind."
The reason this comes to mind is because of the very distressing state of our nation. At this time, it seems like we are experiencing a great deal of lawlessness, and a disregard for order, rules, due process, and almost all the systems by which we usually govern ourselves. We not only have violence and rioting in the streets of many cities, but we have disorder and near chaos in our governmental chambers as well. This did not just happen overnight, nor did it happen because any one man was elected president. It is happening because it is the culmination of many years, decades of casting off restraint and freely indulging in the most serious sins. In our nation God is regarded as no longer relevant to public consideration. His precepts that framed our culture and provided guidance and context for our laws and cultural norms have been rejected. We have allowed ourselves to be duped into thinking that there is no real consequences to personal choice. Moral relativism has brought upon us a whirlwind of lawlessness and confusion. We have gone passed the state of mind that says, " what is true for you may not be true for me so let's just get along," into a mindset that says, "it's true because I say it's true, and you are under obligation to respect whatever truth I have created."
With this as the prevailing attitude, is it any wonder that we are seeing the great wave of lawlessness that is drowning our entire culture? Democrats and Republicans have gone past the point of disagreement and hard nosed debate, to open hatred of one another. Hostility, demonizing, character assassination, lies, subversion, false witness have become common practice and the way to do politics today.
The Bible tells us that all who practice sin practice lawlessness, and that sin is itself lawlessness. The lawlessness we are living in today, is the reaping of many years of personal lawlessness on the part of our citizenry. We ceased to govern ourselves on the personal level, so now we are unable to govern ourselves on the societal level. Lawlessness prevails. I can only think of one solution, and that is to pray for our nation, as we as the Body of Christ repent of our own sins. We must begin to weep over the state of affairs we see all around us. Pray for our leaders in spite of their shortcomings or viewpoints. They, like we, need the wisdom from God our Savior. A whirlwind is upon us, but more certainly, the Spirit and grace of God is with us also. This is our only hope today. As one of our leaders would say from time to time, "The answer is not in the White house, but in God's house."
The reason this comes to mind is because of the very distressing state of our nation. At this time, it seems like we are experiencing a great deal of lawlessness, and a disregard for order, rules, due process, and almost all the systems by which we usually govern ourselves. We not only have violence and rioting in the streets of many cities, but we have disorder and near chaos in our governmental chambers as well. This did not just happen overnight, nor did it happen because any one man was elected president. It is happening because it is the culmination of many years, decades of casting off restraint and freely indulging in the most serious sins. In our nation God is regarded as no longer relevant to public consideration. His precepts that framed our culture and provided guidance and context for our laws and cultural norms have been rejected. We have allowed ourselves to be duped into thinking that there is no real consequences to personal choice. Moral relativism has brought upon us a whirlwind of lawlessness and confusion. We have gone passed the state of mind that says, " what is true for you may not be true for me so let's just get along," into a mindset that says, "it's true because I say it's true, and you are under obligation to respect whatever truth I have created."
With this as the prevailing attitude, is it any wonder that we are seeing the great wave of lawlessness that is drowning our entire culture? Democrats and Republicans have gone past the point of disagreement and hard nosed debate, to open hatred of one another. Hostility, demonizing, character assassination, lies, subversion, false witness have become common practice and the way to do politics today.
The Bible tells us that all who practice sin practice lawlessness, and that sin is itself lawlessness. The lawlessness we are living in today, is the reaping of many years of personal lawlessness on the part of our citizenry. We ceased to govern ourselves on the personal level, so now we are unable to govern ourselves on the societal level. Lawlessness prevails. I can only think of one solution, and that is to pray for our nation, as we as the Body of Christ repent of our own sins. We must begin to weep over the state of affairs we see all around us. Pray for our leaders in spite of their shortcomings or viewpoints. They, like we, need the wisdom from God our Savior. A whirlwind is upon us, but more certainly, the Spirit and grace of God is with us also. This is our only hope today. As one of our leaders would say from time to time, "The answer is not in the White house, but in God's house."
Friday, April 6, 2018
Refreshed
Just thought I would share an experience I had this week. I was having a pretty rough few days spiritually speaking. There was a heaviness in my heart that I couldn't explain. I wasn't really sad about anything, wasn't particularly worried about anything or anyone, just had a sense of gloominess that covered my whole outlook. So, what I normally do when this happens is I sit down and begin to read the Scriptures. Usually I read Psalm 119, and by the time I finish the 176 verses I'm more like my usual self. But before I had a chance to do this I got a text from our pastor, asking if I could preach this next Sunday morning and lead our prayer time the same Sunday night. Of course I said yes but in my mind I was a bit troubled, because I didn't feel I had any word from the Lord and my frame of mind and gloomy heart just didn't feel up to it.
But I {being the trooper that I am} began to pray and wait for some sense of direction in which to get started. So I already had a Wednesday night to get ready for, now a sermon for Sunday service, and a devotion around which our prayer group could rally and seek the heart of God. All the while this nagging heaviness of heart was dragging on me. But a very uplifting thing happened. As I began my preparations I realized the power of being purposefully and deeply immersed in the Scriptures. Each day as I studied, my heart was more and more lightened, and cheered. It seemed that since my mind was focused on God, the Scriptures, and me praying, I was carried out of that gloomy slump and brought once more into the clear air of God's light. It was as if I had take a spiritual tonic, that gave me much needed energy to go forward and help get on track again. I needed the assignment of preaching and teaching for this week to get me out of that slump and back into a much better attitude of faith and joy. I'm not sure what that heaviness was, maybe just a bad mood, stress, perhaps even some sort of spiritual warfare and assault from the enemy. But whatever it's source, it was the word of God and His Presence that restored my joy and lifted my out of the gloom.
So I would encourage you next time you have a similar experience, to not retreat into solitude, not to wallow in what is sometimes called,"stinkin thinkin." Rather draw near to God, ask a friend to pray with you and for you, and above all, get into the Scriptures and prayerfully read them as though God were sitting right next to you. We all have times when heaviness comes upon us. But we do not have to be dominated by those feelings. It may take some time, it took me a few days, but as we immerse ourselves in the things of God we find that He has a way of lifting us above whatever gloom there may be.
So now, it's Friday evening and I'm all set for this Sunday, and with the power of God's Spirit, I trust we will have a great day as we worship, hear from Him and just spend some time giving thanks for all that He is.
But I {being the trooper that I am} began to pray and wait for some sense of direction in which to get started. So I already had a Wednesday night to get ready for, now a sermon for Sunday service, and a devotion around which our prayer group could rally and seek the heart of God. All the while this nagging heaviness of heart was dragging on me. But a very uplifting thing happened. As I began my preparations I realized the power of being purposefully and deeply immersed in the Scriptures. Each day as I studied, my heart was more and more lightened, and cheered. It seemed that since my mind was focused on God, the Scriptures, and me praying, I was carried out of that gloomy slump and brought once more into the clear air of God's light. It was as if I had take a spiritual tonic, that gave me much needed energy to go forward and help get on track again. I needed the assignment of preaching and teaching for this week to get me out of that slump and back into a much better attitude of faith and joy. I'm not sure what that heaviness was, maybe just a bad mood, stress, perhaps even some sort of spiritual warfare and assault from the enemy. But whatever it's source, it was the word of God and His Presence that restored my joy and lifted my out of the gloom.
So I would encourage you next time you have a similar experience, to not retreat into solitude, not to wallow in what is sometimes called,"stinkin thinkin." Rather draw near to God, ask a friend to pray with you and for you, and above all, get into the Scriptures and prayerfully read them as though God were sitting right next to you. We all have times when heaviness comes upon us. But we do not have to be dominated by those feelings. It may take some time, it took me a few days, but as we immerse ourselves in the things of God we find that He has a way of lifting us above whatever gloom there may be.
So now, it's Friday evening and I'm all set for this Sunday, and with the power of God's Spirit, I trust we will have a great day as we worship, hear from Him and just spend some time giving thanks for all that He is.
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