Month: June 2014

Oh Lord art a shield about me…Yes you are Jesus! 

I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me…Yes He did, or He’s Going to!

I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me…He sure does, breath today is life for me!

David wrote this Psalm while his very own son was conspiring to kill him.  David was on the run. (2 Samuel 15:1-16:14).  Can you relate?  Anyone conspiring against you?  Feel like you can’t catch a break?  What is God to you? 

Safety.  Glory.  Joy.  Deliverer.

David took hold of God as his God!  He gained comfort in looking to God during this most difficult time. Looking forward in expectation with the understanding that comfort will indeed come to him. 

God is all-sufficient. 

Troubles bring us to our knees and that is where we find the greatest joy.  At His feet, dependent on Him.  God is listening to you, your prayers are heard.  You can lay your head down and rest, awakening refreshed for the LORD sustained you.

OH dear friends, let us learn from David, that when troubled, have your minds stayed upon God.  No matter what thy circumstances.  David looked forward in confidence to the dangers to come, knowing he had put himself under God’s protection and his fears were calmed.  Let us hope together and encourage one another as we wait on the Lord!

“Hey, lets read through the Psalms together” ~ She boldly offers because they are poetic and a great place for someone to start reading the bible. 

NO THEY AREN’T!!  Well at least not Psalm 2.  Can you say gibberish?  So as not to discourage the whole lot of you that may be reading the Psalms with us, please start your bible reading with the simple prayer “Lord, help me to understand your word”.

This whole Psalm shows us the nature of sin, and the terrible results of it if it could reign.  David and his buddy Nathan probably wrote Psalm 2 as they were assessing the days and times they lived in.  They were a little bugged by the nations rising up against each other and not following the King.  He is particularly put off because he was the king that God put in Jerusalem and countries attacking David were basically countries attaching God!  David knew this was upsetting to God Himself!

Then David refers to the fact that he also became God’s son. (V 7).  You and I are also God’s children if we choose to follow him as our Lord and Savior.  Remember back in Psalm 1 how when we follow God we are firmly planted and the Lords hand is upon all we do and we don’t wither away?  Well here David is saying the same thing and warning the Leaders to obey the king, this is what “kiss his son” means.  David the king is God’s son and God wants His people to follow those whom He has set in Godly authority over you.

Psalm 2 is also about Jesus. The prophets said that Jesus would be king of all the nations. David never ruled the whole world, but Jesus will rule the whole world. He is preparing his return and he will come back to the Earth and establish His kingdom! ~wait you didn’t know that…well He’s a-comin’, better be ready because someday every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!  But seriously this is a study for another time….Psalm 2 is enough truth for us to grasp today.

Let’s just cut to the chase here, for you and I, the practical application is found in verse 11 & 12:

1. Worship the Lord with reverent awe

2. Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in Him!

The true reason why people are opposed to Christ’s truth of sin in our life or not being ‘all in’ for Jesus is our hatred of the restraints of Godliness.  We just don’t like the rules and the regulations.  This is the warning that David and  his buddy were giving to the kings and rulers of the world at the time.  You better straighten up or God’s not gonna be happy. If we aren’t obedient to God and give Him Lordship then we too suffer.  Wait, we also suffer when we give God our everything.  But the difference is when you submit to God’s lordship you are blessed and God fights for you! It is really not about following the rules for the sake of the rules, its about being obedient to Christ out of reverence to Him as the King that God has put over us.  It is about obeying so that it is well with our souls.

Trust Him

Obey Him

Follow Him

 

 

 

 

The true reason of the opposition of sinners to Christ’s truth, viz.: their hatred of the restraints of godliness.

Do you read the bible?  How often?  Does this bible reading include journaling, meditating, checking off a to do list?  Why do you read the bible?  How do you read it?  From the front to back, by opening randomly and wherever your finger lands, or do you have a reading plan?

I have a friend that is going through one of those JOB (the guy in the bible) type times in her life and she really just can’t catch a break.  She said it’s really hard to just keep on keeping on.  I totally get it!  I have felt the same way and I have, even just recently.  Here was my response to here:

Do you read the bible?  Because God’s Word is a non-negotiable part of our relationship with God!

Oh how I love it when I preach to myself.

Fumes of God’s word is really what I’ve been running on this year…sad sad story.  I believe this is a sin against God and that I have been outside of His will  and that I better get back in line because the fumes only last so long.

How long does the smell of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies make your mouth drool and you senses alert?  Maybe 20 minutes if you are lucky, 30 if you go outside and come back in for a whiff.

My friend doesn’t read the bible because to be honest, its difficult to understand.  So, we decided to start reading the Psalms together. I’m choosing the amplified version because it makes it a bit easier to understand when it defines the BIG words.  Scripture Amplified:

Psalm 1^[a]

¹ Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

² But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

³ And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

⁴ Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor ^[b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

⁶ For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).

(Awesome way to start a bible reading experience.  If this doesn’t get you lined up with God’s heart then I’m not sure what will.)

Lord let me be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water(Your word), ready to bring forth its fruit in its season. Let not my leaf fad or wither, let all I do prosper.  Amen

If you are one of those running on the FUMES of God’s word, would you consider joining us on this journey through the psalm, read Psalm 1 and 2 today.  I’ll do my best to write a little about these as we go along, but I wonder, what would reading a Psalm a day for 150 days do to your desire and understanding of God’s word?  I can’t wait to hear your story!

PS…announcement coming soon on how YOU can join ME and together we can learn about God’s Story in our lives!