Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but men! Psalms 9:19-20 [ESV]
This passage uses a Hebrew word for ‘men’ that implies their weakness. Without God, we are nothing but dust and a breath. The psalmist asks God to demonstrate His power over the nations. They are not only hostile to Israel (or those whom He has saved); they also defy God Himself, so He must show them that they are mortal and that He is God.
I too need to heed this call to be ‘in fear’. Before I can ask the Lord to show Himself that He is indeed superior to my enemies, I must have this fear in me. I have no place to be asking God to reign down His judgement on those who have rejected Him, unless I first have the posture of dependence and lack of self-sufficiency to save myself…in whatever I do. In verse 11, the psalmist says, “Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!” It is not appropriate for me to on call judgement from God until I have a heart after His own, and am proclaiming all that He has done; not just in His word, but also in my own life.
As I look forward into this new year, all of my decision making needs to be preceded with this heart-condition, a reverent fear of God. My own actions and plans must be paved with a dependence on God’s word and upright standing where every day there is evidence to convict me of being a child of the King.
But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalms 9:7-10 [ESV]
When I read the Psalms, I see so many repeated themes. David has a way of writing (and singing) that gives us a picture into why God calls David a man after His own heart.
…The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people…”
1 Samuel 13:14 [ESV]
Although God had established kings over Israel, He alone sits enthroned forever. He judges both the world and people of the world with righteousness and uprightness.
Now we come to such a comforting piece of this passage which talks about the refuge God is for His people who put their trust in Him. When David talks about God never forsaking those who seek Him, he is talking about past, present, and future. When I look at the world around me and how far it is diving into debauchery and evil, I as a believer who has put their trust in the ‘Forever King’ can sit in the stronghold of the Lord my God. Although my circumstances and situations might sometimes feel overwhelming and under oppression from this evil world, I have the stronghold of my Lord Who promises never to forsake me…never to turn His face from me. There is such peace in that. Psalms 9:12 assures me that I may be downtrodden and persecuted but the only One who matters, never gives up on or leaves me. Even as part of His amazing plan He allows me to find myself in suffering, He is there with me in the furnace.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. Psalms 9:1-2 [ESV]
Well, I have come down with the LRTI (Lower Respiratory Tract Infection) that has been going around. Lots of coughing and sore bronchial tubes. What is weird is that I feel fine for the most part and been working from home this week.
In my reading today I have moved on to Chapter 9 of Psalms. I have written about this many time in the past but my life verses are Psalms 1:1-3. When I read the first several verses of chapter 9 today, I am reminded of the percent of my person that gives thanks – my ‘whole heart’. Even with my LRTI, I give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, recounting all of His wonderful deeds. Looking over the last year, I have so much to be thankful to God for. Bella on the mission field, a roof over my head, an amazing church body to be surrounded by, and so many opportunities to serve Him. Let alone the job I have that allows me to care for my family and give in ways that should be aligned with how much I have been given.
Even in suffering I can be glad in Jesus and exalt His Name. What I have ahead of me is far more blessing than I have been given here on earth. Looking forward into the next year, I must prayerfully consider all the ways in which I am able to serve Him.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him? Psalms 8:3-4 [ESV]
Psalm 8 is such a recognizable passage for many of us. When I look at the stars, I comprehend the magnitude of Who God is…and even then, He is so much bigger than that. I see His greatness in the work of His creation. The vastness of space and depth and complication of how it all works together is reflective of the beauty of Who created it. When the Psalmist talks about the ‘Work of His fingers’ there is a sense that God is personally and intimately involved in what He creates.
Why are we so exalted in position in this cast work He has created? God has all of the light years of space He has stitched together yet He actively cares for you and me. It is in prayer life and the visible work of His hand in my own life that combined with this sense of awe in who I am in what He has created that He would not only pay close attention to me and my needs but also direct and guide my life according to His great plan for His Kingdom. Just think about that for a second…we matter to a Magnificent God. One more thing, the way the Jewish text is written, and the words used in scripture essentially denote us a something closer to God than anything else in His creation order. We are created in His image; we reflect and represent God more than any other creature.
God is glorious, and humanity, as created in the image of God, reflects that glory. It is a derivative glory, analogous to the way in which the moon reflects the light of the sun.
Longman III – Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms
Behold, the wicked man conceives evil
and is pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
He makes a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
His mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High. Psalms 7:14-17 [ESV]
Following on the passage from yesterday, the Psalmist is talking about how a wicked man brings about his own pain. In our small view of the world, we may never know of see the pain this wicked man receives. So dire is the state of this man that just before it talks about how God readies His weapons and takes aim.
If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
Psalms 7:12-13
This man needs the grace and salvation of the Great Redeemer, or his doom is sealed. I spoke yesterday about loving enemies, and I feel compassion for this person who does not realize the ruin he has brought upon himself. He foolishly thinks he can shape his own fate. I wish he would repent of his wickedness and embrace the only source of redemption he has.
Lastly the passage ends with “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.” It is God’s righteousness and grace that has saved me from the same fate…in my sin I was in no different place than this poor soul. The ONLY praise I will sing will be to the One Who has plucked me from my own disaster.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield. Psalms 5:11-12 [ESV]
Since my last post on the 17th of this month, I have taken little break from any distractions that could take me away from time with the family. This time of year is definitely busy as it is likely for most; however, it is one of my most prized times as it is full of gratitude and rejoicing at the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Who has brought the most important gift to all of us. I will be back into a better swing of consistency with these posts starting in the New Year but for now I will leave you with my memory verses for this week. I hope they bless you as much as they have me.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:44-49 [AMP]
Tomorrow I will finish my deep reading of the book of Luke (I started this reading on 01 MAR 2023). Today I am marveling at the situation of Jesus appearing before the people gathered in the house for dinner, and the things that He said. This happens just before He leads them out to Bethany and ascends into Heaven (more on that tomorrow).
First Jesus tells them to see that He is flesh and bones and not a spirit. Even though they were joyous and marveling, they still were in unbelief that He was standing before them in the flesh. So, He asked them to give Him something to eat; they gave Him some broiled fish and He ate it. The verse I start out with above is the conclusion of that time with them. Here are the primary takeaways from what He said:
[Prophesy Complete] Everything that had been written about Him in the Law of Moses, Prophets, and Psalms would be fulfilled.
[The Believers Receive the Living Word] Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
[The work of Salvation for those who would believe, has been Completed] His Passion had been completed in His suffering and rising from the dead.
[The call to missions in the proclamation of the Gospel to all] The message of the Gospel should be proclaimed to all the nations beginning with Jerusalem.
[A record by humans that these prophesies had indeed happened] That those in the room were witnesses to these things.
[The Holy Spirit would soon be upon them] That Jesus was sending the promise of the Father upon them.
[For the witnesses specifically, special clothing of Power would come upon them] They were to stay in Jerusalem until they were clothed with the power from on high.
In this little passage in the Gospels, Jesus lays out the TRUTH for all to hear and remember. The biggest aspect for me in this passage is that Jesus is alive -> living in Heaven at the right hand of the Father.
Application:
My salvation, my faith, the call on my life, and strength available to me is recorded by the words of Jesus right here before He ascended. There is nothing I lack in my Christian walk to ‘Follow Him’. However, it is a daily choice to abide by what is written here. Listening to Pastor Steve’s message today I am reminded that peace and comfort that the Lord can provide is for those who ‘abide’ IN Jesus. Aspiring to be like Him every day, in my life, to my family, at work, and in my ministry service to Him alone. This weekend we are on a little getaway to our cabin on Herron Island and it has been so peaceful and restful after such a busy season of life. It has provided a needed time of reflection, and these passages could not have come at a better time.
Sophie, Prim, and Brooklyn. Marianne is napping. We miss Bella a ton!
They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:32 [AMP]
Today I was reading about the appearing of the Lord Jesus to the men on the road to Emmaus. How Jesus came along two of the ones that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James had told of the empty tomb and the angels that spoke to them. These 2 men were talking to each other on their way and Jesus came up alongside them, but their eyes were not permitted to see that it was Him. Jesus “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” Luke 24:27. They invited this stranger to dinner and when He broke bread, blessed it, and handed it to them, all at once it was revealed who He was and immediately He vanished. The verse I started with above is what they said to each other when they realized it was Him.
It dawns on me that this is the first time the ‘Living Word’ was spoken to them and ‘their hearts burned within them’. This is what happens to me when I read God’s Word and He reveals a TRUTH and application to my life I had not seen before. This is a true gift to us as believers and not something that can be explained but must be experienced. When this happens to you, listen! God is speaking to you! Internalize it and apply it to your life. It is God’s provision and His gift to us on this earth to hear directly from Him through His Holy Spirit speaking into our lives.
I have such gratefulness in my heart for this gift and never let it go to waste. God’s direction in my life is a building of faith that no other religion on this planet can provide. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the gift of your ‘Helper’ while I wait for your return!
And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Luke 24:5-9 [AMP]
This is what we live for as ‘born again’ Christians…a living God who has conquered death. Because of Jesus, we do not have to fear death; for what comes after eclipses, beyond imagination, anything we can achieve here on earth.
What our role is here in this world and lifetime, is to honor the Gift that has been given to us by living according to the teachings of our Savior. Living to a standard that glorifies only one person, the Person of Jesus Christ.
This Christmas season is an opportunity to show our families and kids what it means to be servant hearted and generous in our giving of time and gifts celebrating how Jesus entered the world to fulfil His redemption plan. I know I have quoted this verse a lot but in light of today’s reading, it once again presents itself as meaningful:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Luke 23:54-56 [AMP]
One thing that never dawned on me was that Jesus spent His time absent from the Father on the Sabbath. I am probably the last Christian on earth that been has been struck in this way and I feel somewhat embarrassed by it. This gives a whole new meaning to the Sabbath and spending time (not working) but dwelling on the price that was paid for my sins. Although the type death Jesus died was horrific, the real price was the separation from God the Father in death. I am sure that this is what He was dreading most when He prayed for the ‘cup to pass from Him’.
When we spend out 1 day of the week praying and communing with the risen Christ on our mind, it should always include the gratefulness in acknowledgement of what He did on that day for us. Because of this, we don’t have to have that separation, we are redeemed to live with God for eternity; never having to reap what deserve. What an amazing mindset to rest in each week -> our Lord and Savior enduring separation so that we never have to. So grateful for the perfect plan God has had in His redemption story.
