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Psalm 10

Most scholars believe that Psalm 10 and Psalm 9 were originally 1 psalm in the Greek Septuagint, and somewhere along time, they got separated into two different psalms. This psalm should be attributed to David and is another great psalm of him crying out to God to avenge his oppressors. He starts the psalm by asking God, “Why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide in times of trouble?” David then spends the better half of this psalm explaining the character traits of the wicked. They are proud, boastful, deceiving, cursing, workers of iniquity, unrighteous, and oppressive. Maybe worst of all, David describes them as people who do not believe God will require an account of them. This displays their actions and motives holistically. If someone does not believe that there are consequences for their actions, then they are their own judge and will do whatever they want. Let me be straight with anyone reading this. Your sin will find you out, and if you die separated from God, with no atonement, you will be punished for your sinful activity by reaping eternal punishment in hell. The beautiful thing is that you do not have to die separated. Jesus provided the way out when He bled and died on a cross 2,000 years ago!

For the rest of this short post, lets focus on how David feels during this oppression. Often when bad things are happening in the world, we ask a couple of questions. Where are you God? Why is this happening to me? Why do these horrific things happen to such good people? My mentor always says, “bad things are not indicative of a bad God, but a bad world.” I believe this is true. Sometimes we can’t find Him because we aren’t looking or listening. Other times it’s because we are looking or listening to the wrong things. Still, other times, God wants us to remain under trials for the strengthening of our faith.

God is working on His own timeline called eternity. We humans are very fickle, and we want things a certain way. We want oppressors punished right now! We want the Lord to handle this family strife right now! We want our food right now, so we throw it in the microwave! God works things out for our good and for His glory, only in His timing. He will avenge the oppression, but in His timing.

So how can there be so much evil if God is the King forever and ever? Well, the Bible portrays Satan as the prince of the air (Eph. 2:2) and as the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). Satan’s goal is to steal, kill, and destroy everything you own, love, and cherish. Go read Job’s story for more information. His goal is to drag as many people to hell with him as he can. So, the result of that is sometimes our world can look like hell. But for us as believers, this world is as bad as it gets.

Now quickly read verses 14-18 with me. David trusts the Lord even when he doesn’t hear God or see Him acting. God is observing our trouble and grief, He is the Father of the fatherless, He is King forever and ever, and He hears every single prayer that you pray. Sometimes we cannot explain why God allows certain things to happen, but we have faith and trust that He is still a good, sovereign, trustworthy God because He works all things together for good to those who love God and who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8: 28).

Today’s Reading Psalms 8

“O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth,  Who have set  Your glory above the heavens!

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. 

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 

What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 

All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, 

The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. 

O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Throughout life, we try to describe beauty and excellence in simple terms. I remember a young age I was trying to describe beauty but I was focused only on the superficial part of beauty. I tried to describe it to something perfect: a rose or a diamond.  I try to describe it as something unimaginable. But as I grew and matured and as I became more aware and more experience, we can see beauty and excellence in the small things.  I have now discovered that the flaws of the diamond makes it more rare and beautiful.  It is the small pieces combined that really bring excellence in beauty.  

Over the weekend, my children and I went ice-skating and rollerblading. The beauty of watching them learn the new skills is so amazing. Some of them have no fear, but some of them have some hesitation to it. But at the end of the day, they continue to want to pursue this new skill. This is beautiful to me. 

Having a pancake breakfast with my son, this is beauty to me.

Driving with the family to get groceries, this is beauty to me. 

Delivering Girl Scout Cookies with my girls, this is beauty to me. 

Being in the healthcare field, both my wife and I see so many patients that have different challenges. When we are faced with the challenges that we can from our experience with our patients and helping them in their time of need, we can see God‘s beauty and excellence in our challenges. 

One of the best quotes that our pastor stated a couple years ago that is still relevant is  “God cannot protect you what he’s going to perfect you through“.

In all of our circumstances we have to understand that God is in control. 

God’s excellence will persevere despite the challenges, the heartache, and the trauma of all our circumstances.  

This psalm is so amazing that we have to say it at the beginning and the end. 

Be blessed 

 

Psalms 7

The Lord judges the peoples; vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity. Psalms 7:8 (CSB)

There are two reasons we don’t call upon God.  We either don’t believe that he can or we don’t believe we deserve it. Both responses prevent God from working in our lives.

David believed that God was capable.  Most of us do.  We call him all-mighty, all-powerful and able to move mountains.  If those things are true, our problem, like David’s, is getting God to act.  In Psalms 7, we hear David begging God to act on his behalf.  “Do it,” he says, “according to my righteousness and integrity.”  I don’t know about you, but I stop short of that one.

Those words make me shudder. I am all too familiar with my levels of righteousness and integrity.  I know what I deserve.  Why would God ever vindicate me?

The only answer I have is that I don’t know.  Paul gets it right, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Romans 3:24 (NLT)

God, vindicate me.

Psalms 3-4

When you look back on the stories of King David you can see how he was known for his courage, military strategy and leadership.  I mean, he did take down a giant in Goliath.  He was a shepherd who became the King of Israel and led them through “The Golden Age” of prosperity.  Like any man, though, he had his flaws, but was one of the best at asking God for forgiveness and seeking His guidance throughout all of his life.

I personally could read Psalm 3 over and over again.  In Psalm 3:2 he says, ‘Men are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”’  This makes me think of when people say, “Stop worrying about what other people think about you.”  It is something I say way to often to my immediate family and friends.  And so often I catch myself ‘worrying about what someone else says about me’ when I should be asking God to bestow glory on me and simply lift up my head like David did.

Then in Psalm 4, David references how those against him see the glory in his life and shame him for it.  They all seek false gods and ask who will show them any good.  But instead of David shaming them, he prays for them.  He prays to the Lord that they will all seek out righteousness in Him and make the right sacrifices to Him.   If only I could be as conscious of this as much as David was.

The two Psalms are reminders to us.  When we get caught up in the day to day and we hear others comment about personal, professional, and spiritual lives in a negative way for no good reason……our first reaction is not reciprocating in the same manner back.  It gives us a reason right then and there to give thanks to God.  It is a reminder that ALL of our good comes from Him, and we reciprocate by asking God to love and watch over our neighbors so that one day they start doing the same.

2/18/24 – Psalms 1-2

 

Many times, the Bible calls us to walk in righteousness. After hearing our call, it is only natural for us as Christians to fall into a frantic search. What is righteousness? What must we do to achieve it? Can we truly achieve it? The synchronization of these two chapters happens to point us to the answer. Psalms 1 points us to the law, and Psalms 2 eludes to the perfect fulfillment of that law that came to save us from our inability to execute it. 

 

Psalms 1 starts by defining what a blessed man is, he “walks not in the counsel of the wicked” and “his delight is in the law of the Lord”. The author says the blessed man “is like a tree planted by streams of water”. The law nurtures him, replenishes him, and gives him all that he needs to grow and prosper. The wicked however don’t adhere to these ways, and the author declares they are instead like “chaff in the wind.” The Psalm concludes, “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

 

It is clear that the law is good. We are to delight in the law. In the case of the Israelites, the law was given to them to set them apart as God’s chosen people and guide them toward the Lord. It is sacred to them, when they follow it the Kingdom prospers and it falters when they stray away. We must follow it to be righteous before the Lord.

 

But the problem since the beginning of time has been that people don’t fulfill the law. We have all failed to practice the law perfectly, we are all wicked in the eyes of the Lord. This is partly what Psalm 2 highlights. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his anointed.” The world is full of wickedness, the rulers do not delight in the law, and they plot against those who do. But something (or someone) is coming. “As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” The Lord has a plan. 

 

In summary, Psalms 1 recognizes a beloved standard to keep, while Chapter 2 acknowledges how the world has fallen desperately short. However, that is not the end, the Lord has prepared a king. We are lucky to know this king. He shall enter into a broken world to live a perfect life. He shall commit the ultimate act of love, dying on a tree on our behalf. The author says of him, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” 

 

The psalmists unknowingly speak of the antidote to our unrighteousness. Though we cannot fulfill the law spoken of in chapter 1, Jesus can and did. If we wish to walk in righteousness, we should plant ourselves close to him like a tree by a stream of water. Only while being in him and accepting his gift of grace can we be in righteousness, in no other way could we come before the Father than through him. He is the law fulfilled, we must look to him and his example in everything we do. Only by doing this may we walk in righteousness!

When Jesus first called His disciples, He found them as fishermen, casting their nets into the sea. Yet, He saw something greater in them. “Follow Me,” He said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19). With this simple yet profound invitation, He transformed their purpose from gathering fish to gathering souls for the kingdom of God.

In John 21, after His resurrection, Jesus once again meets His disciples by the sea. They had returned to their old ways, fishing through the night but catching nothing. At dawn, Jesus appears and tells them to cast their net on the right side. In obedience, they pull in a miraculous catch of 153 fish, more than they could handle. This was no coincidence. Jesus was reminding them of their true mission: to trust in Him and bring people into His kingdom.

Just as fishing requires patience, skill, and perseverance, so does sharing the gospel. Sometimes we cast our nets and see no immediate results. At times, we may feel like failures. But Jesus shows us that success in His work comes not from our own efforts but from obedience to His voice. When we follow His guidance, He provides the increase.

Jesus’ final words to Peter were, “Follow Me” (John 21:19). This command echoes through time to all who believe. To be a fisher of men is not just a call for the disciples, it is a call for us. We are to go where He leads, casting the net of His love, truth, and salvation into the world.

If we trust Him, if we obey, He will fill the net. The harvest is ready. The call remains. Will you follow?

John 18

This chapter of John’s gospel follows Jesus’ prayer for both you and I as believers in Him. Following this prayer in chapter 17, Jesus and His disciples got up and crossed over the Brook Kidron where there was a garden called Gethsemane. This garden was at the foot of the Mount of Olives where Jesus ascended to heaven and where He will return someday. This scene is where Judas’ betrayal of Jesus started to materialize.

Judas, along with a detachment of troops from the pharisees and high priests came to seize Jesus and to take him to be judged before Annas, Caiaphas (the high priest), and then Pilate (Roman governor). The religious leaders found Jesus as an “evildoer” (v. 30 NKJV), but they could not put Jesus to death according to their law (v. 31). Then they took Jesus before the roman governor Pontius Pilate, persistently seeking for Jesus to be killed. The first thing Pilate asks is, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (v. 33). Jesus answers Pilate’s question in verse 37 boldly claiming His kingship and His purpose for coming to the world: to “bear witness to the truth”.

Quite possibly one of the sadder quotations found in the Bible comes after this. Pilate asks, “What is truth?” and then left before he got the answer from the Messiah himself.

God has preserved His scriptures for thousands of years so that you and I may know the truth and this is it:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3: 16-21)

God took on flesh to dwell among us, to live a perfect life, to die on a cross, and to rise again conquering both sin and death. You are not too far gone. Read Paul’s words to Timothy,

“… Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ‘However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” (1 Timothy 1: 15-16)

God is patient, He does not condemn. He does not throw shame and guilt. You haven’t strayed too far for God to forgive you. You don’t earn your salvation; you receive it as a gift. Don’t move on with your day before understanding and knowing the truth. Don’t leave without understanding it. Don’t be Pilate.