Tag: Psalms

January 2, 2024

BITE: You [LORD] Who Test the Mind and Hearts…

Psalms 7:9-11 [ESV]
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!
My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.

One thing I feel almost every day is an anger toward those who are conceived of evil and peddle wickedness. I am guilty of bitterness and frustration with the ways of the society and culture…and today I am convicted by this passage; taking too much ownership of passing judgement and finding guilt in others.

What the Psalmist says here is that God alone is the One who tests the mind and hearts of everyone: a righteous Judge who feels indignation every day. Why do I need to spend any time doing this (judging and feeling indignation) when the Righteous God of the universe is doing this every day? I am saved and my shield is with the Most Just God in Heaven Who provides the protection I need to withstand the evil ways of this world.

The important sentence here is “[God] saves the upright in heart”. Is my heart upright if I am constantly taking on a passing of judgement and guilt on those hearts and minds I am not able to see? No -> God calls me to Love my enemies.

“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48 [ESV]

January 1, 2024January 2, 2024

BITE: Back to Work Tomorrow…

Psalms 6:8-10 [ESV]
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

As you can probably tell, I am rolling through Psalms next. I am excited about this deep study of this amazing book of lament, assurance, and praise. This passage today hits as I return to work tomorrow after being off for several weeks to recoup and spend much needed time with family, rest, and celebrate the birth of Jesus. This new year brings newness across all spectrums, but I can confidently walk forward because of my Faith in God alone. Most people make New Year’s resolutions or goals but for me I simply seek to deepen my relationship with God and make more and more about what I do in every moment in life more and more aligned with God’s Kingdom work…that starts with me.

Now this passage talks about enemies but I really don’t have any. I do have adversaries in my work life who I know the Lord has placed in my life to teach me how to ‘love’ more like He loves. Weeping, pleas, and prayer are the things David tells us God accepts from him. I can learn from this because weeping denotes transparency, pleas point to dependence, and prayer points to closeness in communication. When all of these are in effect, my adversaries only have the LORD to fear, and I can trust that the LORD’s timing is the one that matters, not mine.

So looking forward to what is ahead, even the trials I know I will face. For now, I am dwelling on the special moments I have had with my family and the blessings God has given me in food, shelter, clothing, and relationships I do not deserve.

December 30, 2023December 30, 2023

BITE: A much needed break from Technology…

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.

May 31, 2023June 1, 2023

QTVOTD: A Digest of Psalms 5…

Today I took a departure from Luke to read Psalm 5 and capture it in my own words. I am going to type it out here.

CAVEAT: Do not read this as a direct interpretation of Psalms 5. This is just how I personally took what I see it saying with a little bent on my personal circumstances and what the Lord may be revealing to me. Please don’t take this digest as anything other than a peek into my mind. 🙂

Ben’s Digest of Psalm 5:

Hear me O God! Please see my discouragement! I am crying out to You Lord…do You not hear me?

I know that You hear my voice when I cry out to You first thing in the morning. At that time, I tell You my requests and then I wait in expectation to hear Your answer.

God, You hate evil. It cannot be where You are. When You see people do wrong, You stand in frustration, and hate them and their behavior. You abhor those who lie.

I, Lord God, by Your great mercy, will come into Your house, Your temple, and bow down to You in reverence. As I submit to You, please lead me in Your righteousness. My enemies work to confuse me Lord; please lay the straight way of Your will before me.

These enemies God, cannot be trusted. Their hearts seek and thirst for my destruction. Everything they say is the foulest smelling. Declare them guilty O God! Let them walk themselves into ruin. Hold them from Yourself, send them away… they have left You.

But! Let those who cling to You for safety be glad. Let them with a heart of peace, sing for You. Spread Your protection over them, that in their safety they may rejoice in You.

[Quote] Surely O Lord You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield.
Psalms 5: 12

January 15, 2023January 16, 2023

QTVOTD: Dwell, Gaze, and Seek…

The passage today is a little deviation from my reading in 2 Corinthians but I just wanted to share a little bit about the opportunity I had today at Hope Community Church in South Everett this morning. Hope Community is a church plan of Canyon Hills Community Church in Bothell, the church at which I am an elder. This morning 2 new lay elders were installed at Hope Community and the elders at Canyon Hills were invited to come be a part of this process. It was such a great moment as it represents a milestone of growth for this new church. I was asked to pray as we commissioned these 2 men (Micah and Clint) as new elders. Below is what the Lord laid on my heart to share through my prayer.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire [seek] in His temple. Psalms 27:4 [AMP]

I know this verse and following verse 5 by heart because they are Bella’s life verses. As I sat there praying about what the Lord would have me pray over these 2 men, this is the verse that came to mind. More importantly the 3 words that jump off the page as it relates to being elders the Lord calls us to be.

DWELL
GAZE
SEEK

2 Timothy 3:1-5 and Titus have a nontrivial number of qualifications called out for elders. Having been an elder for over 2 years now, the most effective elder is one who does not let his pride, position, or own feelings get in the way of what God is doing or wants. So, when I remembered this verse it just called out so well how to be this conduit of God’s will and purposes.

An elder must desire to DWELL in the house of the Lord forever. That this body is not his home, our heavenly hope in an eternity with Jesus is our home. We must dwell here on earth by living a life that is focused on our faith.

An elder must GAZE upon the face of God and Jesus as a representation of Who they should strive to be like. In some versions it says ‘gaze upon the beauty of the Lord’ as being this thing that a person desires from the Lord. It implies that when we look at Jesus or God, we see beauty and cannot take our eyes from it. Also, when we gaze at beauty, we are able to see that beauty in our minds when we look away; we can remember and stay true to that definition of beauty.

An elder must SEEK God in His temple. I interpret this for us here on earth to be a diligent search to understand God’s character, personhood, and heart desires for us through His Word and prayer. When a person is seeking, the hunt is not over until the object has been found so this implies a fervent search with purpose and intent.

So, all of these put together show that an elder is right where God can use him when he is DWELLING in the presence of God, GAZING on the TRUTH of Who God is, and SEEKING God’s word for His desires and will to be done through that elder.