Tag Archives: Psalms

Routine

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I’m a man of routine. I have a certain routine that I like to follow most morning before I head out the office – reading, prayer, jogging, and some time with family.  It seems to make my day go better when I do these things. I really enjoy my routines, and I really need my routines.

The last few weeks have been a little (or a lot) crazy.  We’ve had several long trips to various places.  I’ve had meetings in Jackson. I had a little thing I like to call gall bladder surgery.  It’s been something else.

And more change is coming in the coming weeks, with a new church, a new house (along with a new house payment!) and all the changes that go with it!

And so this morning, as I began again my routine, it was so great to read the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 100

1 Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; *
serve the LORD with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know this: The LORD himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
4 For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

I’ve read this Psalm most everyday the past few years. It’s become part of my routine. And it felt so good to read this morning.

The Lord has made us. We are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

What a comfort, knowing that no matter what happens in life, we are His. We are the sheep of His pasture.

And, in life, we need the routines of knowing these things. We need the routines of hearing these things again, and again, and again.

We need to be reminded that in a world of constant change, somethings remain the same. No matter what happens, we are the sheep of His pasture.  No mater what changes happen, we are sheep of His pasture.  No matter what unknown the future holds, we are the sheep of His pasture.

I’m so glad I had my routine of scripture and prayer this morning to remind me of that.

What routines do you have to allow you to hear His voice? What routines are there in your life that cause you to know that you are His?

We need these things. I became convicted today that no matter what happens I can’t lose my routines.

What about you?  What are the routines in your life? What do you hold to?

May we have those things in life that remind us that we are His. We are the sheep of His pasture.

Mindful

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One of today’s Psalms was one that shows the power of God, but also shows our place in creation.  In Psalm 8 it says this:

4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
5 What is man that you should be mindful of him? *
the son of man that you should seek him out?
6 You have made him but little lower than the angels; *
you adorn him with glory and honor;

Think about what an awesome God that God is.  He made all that is, both seen and unseen.  He created everything that has being.  Scripture tells us that He holds all things together.

He is the author of life, of salvation, of everything.

He is the great God of the universe. The God of the Cosmos. The God of all.

His greatness is too much for our feeble minds to understand.  His power is and knowledge is too great for us to even fathom.

He is God of all.

He made all.

He.  Is.  God.

Wow.

And, He wants to know us. Think about that. . . . .

The God of the universe, the God of the cosmos. The God of all.  His greatest desire it to be in relationship with us. Wow.

He has made us for relationship and for love.  He has made us to know us.  He has made us to love us.  He has made us for Himself.

Your greatest purpose in life is to know and love the creator God.

The vast God of the universe, the amazing God of creation, the infinite God of everything, He wants to know you.  Personally.  Deeply.  Loving you.

Of all the things that blow my mind, this is among the greatest.

This awesome God desires relationship with us.  Wow.

Today, know who He is. And know who we are. And marvel at the fact that God Almighty is a personal God for us each.

May we spend time today knowing Him better.

Lights and Lamps

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Today in the Psalm from the morning, we see one of the more famous verses in Scripture, about Scripture.  It’s 119: 105

105 Thy word is a lantern unto my feet *
and a light unto my paths.

I remember this as a child in VBS at Johnston Chapel UMC. We’d start off every VBS day with the pledge the American Flag, the Christian Flag, and then the pledge to the Bible. This verse was one of the parts of the pledge that I can still remember from my childhood.

And many of us may remember the Amy Grant song “Thy Word” which quoted this verse as part of it.

So, many of us are very familiar with this passage. It’s one of my favorites, but it’s taken on a new meaning for me over the years.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. That sounds good, doesn’t it?  It sounds calming and reassuring.

It is. But, there is one catch to it.  Lights and lamps, they don’t always provide the most light.  In fact, if you look at the text, it says it will be light to our feet, and lamp to our path.

It will give us light for the next step.

No necessary the step 10 steps from now.

Sometimes, we just have enough light to know what the next step is. The next move is. The next action is.

We may only know what we are supposed to do today.  We may not know what we are supposed to do tomorrow. All we know is today.

It’s kind of like the manna they gathered in the Old Testament. The were only supposed to gather enough for that day, and trust in God for tomorrow.

That’s hard. We want enough manna for tomorrow. We want enough light to see 10 steps down the road.

We don’t always get it. We get manna for today. We get light for our next step.

And then, as we take that next step, we get light for the next. And the next.  And the next.

We will have all the light we need, all the direction we need. We just have to trust.

We have light for this next step.

What is your next step?  Will you take it? God will give you the light that you need.

Mercy

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As I was reading a portion of Psalm 78 this morning, the last passage really spoke to me:

38 But he was so merciful that he forgave their sins
and did not destroy them; *
many times he held back his anger
and did not permit his wrath to be roused.
39 For he remembered that they were but flesh, *
a breath that goes forth and does not return.

This Psalm recounts how the people of Israel turned from God again and again and again.

It tells of how God brought punishment to them over and over for their sin.  And how, after a time of repentance, He forgave.

But, they would fall down again and again and again.

And each time, He would forgive.

This last passage tell us why. He remembers they, and we, are just flesh.  God knows our strengths.  And He knows our weaknesses.

Do we think He is surprised by our faults and frailty?  Do we think He is stunned when we fall?  Do we think that God didn’t see out mistakes coming?

He created us.  He knows us better than we ever know ourselves.  He knows all there is to know about us.  He knows our mistakes before we even make them.  He knows we are sinful and weak and frail.

And He loves anyway.  He loves you.  He loves me.  He loves in spite our mistakes.  He loves us in spite of what we’ve done wrong.  No matter what it is. God loves us.

No.  Matter.  What.

He doesn’t love us for our strength or despise us for our weakness.  He loves us.

He is a God of Mercy.  May we rejoice because of that. And may we understand today just how much we are loved.

Gathering up Tears

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Today, as I was reading Psalm 56, verse 8 drew my attention:

8 You have noted my lamentation; put my tears into your bottle; * are they not recorded in your book?

A friend of mine gave me a pottery jar one day. It’s replica of a piece that women used in ancient times, and what they would do is this. As the men would go out fighting wars, when the women would cry over their men being gone, they would cry into the pot. And then, when the men came back, supposedly they could show their tears to their beloved as a sign of much they missed then and how loved they were.

I think that’s a great story about love and longing and that is what I think of when I read that passage today.

We have a God that loves us enough that no only does He notice our tears, but He gathers them up in His bottle. We have a God that loves us enough that our tears matter to Him.

Sometimes we can let our feelings fool us into thinking that God is only there during the good times.

That only when things are going great that His presence is with us.

That only the laughter is blessed.

That only happiness counts.

Today, we see that God gathers our tears. God knows our pain. God cares for our hurts.  God knows our longings. God mends our hearts.

God is not just god of the good and the easy. God is not just god of the carefree and the happy.  God is not just god of the easy valley and smooth road.

He is God, even when we walk through the shadow of death. He is the God when the tornado comes and the oil slick is headed our way.

He is God, even in the tears.

Today, He will gather up our tears. Because they are precious to Him. Because we are precious to Him.

Why am I so Stupid?

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Today I was praying and thinking about the inability to stop doing stupid things.  You know how it is, you know what I mean. We, as humans, don’t learn our lessons well sometimes. We keep making the same mistakes over and over and over again. We keep falling in the same holes, we keep getting tripped up by the same things.

As I asked God this morning when I was praying, “God why am I so stupid?”  That’s how I feel sometimes.  I think we each feel that way sometimes too.

Then, I was reading the assigned Psalm for today’s morning office, Psalm 103.  Here’s the part that most spoke to me:

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;
4 He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
5 He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6 The LORD executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 He will not always accuse us, *
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, *
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father cares for his children, *
so does the LORD care for those who fear him.
14 For he himself knows whereof we are made; *
he remembers that we are but dust.
15 Our days are like the grass; *
we flourish like a flower of the field;
16 When the wind goes over it, it is gone, *
and its place shall know it no more.
17 But the merciful goodness of the LORD endures for ever on those who fear him, *and his righteousness on children’s children;

There seems to be two refrains. We are weak and frail.  Our lives are but a whisper. We are the grass of the field. We are temporary. We will not be here for long. We are weak.  We are clumsy.  We fall down.

God is eternal.  God is love. God longs to show mercy to His children.  Why we are here for just a moment, God was here before we got here and will be here after we leave.  He is before and after us.  He is God.

And, He knows we are frail and weak.  He knows we are clumsy.  He knows we fall.  He knows we get tripped up.  He knows we are from the dust.

And He loves us anyway.  He loves us in spite of our weakness.  He loves us.

His love is greater than our mistakes. His strength is stronger than our weakness.  His mercy is deeper than our sins.  No matter what we’ve done.  He loves us.  He loves you today, no matter if you’ve done the same dumb thing yesterday that you’ve done for years.

He might not like what you’ve done.  He might not delight in your sin.

But He loves you.  He delights in you.  You are loved, no matter what.

I don’t know about you, but I needed to hear this Psalm today. It’s a good thing to know that I’m loved, no matter what.  So are you today.  You are love, in spite of it all.

Live in that knowledge.

Yes, it’s Friday. But Sunday’s Coming

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Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people.

All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;

“Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.

On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God.

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

Many bulls encircle me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;

my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled;

I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me;

they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!

Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog!

Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.

I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise theLord. May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.

For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.

Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,

and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.

This was the Psalm that Jesus quoted upon the cross. This Psalm shows His pain, His hurt, His fear.

We forget that Jesus was not just fully God.  He was fully human.  He felt pain.  He felt hurt.  He felt loss. He felt abandonment.  He felt all this.

Let us never forget all He endured.  Let us never forget the depth of His love.  Let us never forget all He gave.  Let us never forget.

And, let us remember how this Psalm ends. With rejoicing. For while the Psalm begins with abandonment, it ends with God’s victory and redemption.

So does today.  Yes, it’s Friday.  But Sunday’s Coming.

Fool’s Gold

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On of the suggested Psalms for this mornings prayer is Psalm 12:

1 Help me, LORD, for there is no godly one left; *
the faithful have vanished from among us.
2 Everyone speaks falsely with his neighbor; *
with a smooth tongue they speak from a double heart.
3 Oh, that the LORD would cut off all smooth tongues, *
and close the lips that utter proud boasts!
4 Those who say, “With our tongue will we prevail; *
our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because the needy are oppressed,
and the poor cry out in misery, *
I will rise up,” says the LORD,
“and give them the help they long for.”
6 The words of the LORD are pure words, *
like silver refined from ore
and purified seven times in the fire.
7 O LORD, watch over us *
and save us from this generation for ever.
8 The wicked prowl on every side, *
and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone.

Sometimes as you are reading and praying through the scripture, just a phrase will pop out and stick with you. I’ve been taught that when that happens, pay special attention, that’s one of the ways that the Lord will speak to you through the reading of scripture.

Today, as I was reading this Psalm, the last verse stood out to me – “and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone.”

That got me to thinking about what I prize.  About what I value.  About how I live, how I spend my time.

Is it worth wild?  In my life, am I chasing what really matters?  Am I spending my effort, my energy, my passion, on those things which are truly valuable?

Or am I spending my time chasing fool’s gold?  Am I spending my time chasing things which are fleeting?  Am I chasing my pride?  My ambition? Wealth?  Whatever.  Am I focusing on that which is worthless?  Or that which is eternal?

I think sometimes we find our lives empty because the things that we most chase are empty.

Today, what are you chasing? What are you after? What are you living for?  Is it really valuable?

The things of God are of priceless worth. They will not leave us empty. They will not leave us dry. They will not leave us alone. They are of amazing worth.

Today, do we chase that which is worthless?  Or do we chase that which is priceless.  My we spend our precious lives after that which truly matters.

The Silent Heart

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Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.

But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.

I was reading the Daily Office today and one of the suggested Psalms was 131.  I’ve never really read it, I mean really read it until this morning.  I’ve never really listened.

And as I listened today, I heard something today that I’ve never really heard.  Be quiet.  Slow down. Listen.

How busy are you today?  How much to have you planned?  What is on your schedule? What do you have coming up? Will you even make time today for God?

Stop.  Listen.  Listen for God.  Take time to breathe.  Stop.

Calm and quiet your soul.

I’ve not been doing that recently.  Some of the anxiousness and I worry I’ve faced in my life recently comes from that. I have not quieted my soul.  I have not taken time to listen.  I have not taken time to come before God.

This mistake robs our peace, joy, and hope.  This mistake makes us directionless.  This mistake leave us longing.

Today, calm and quiet your soul.  God is there. Calm. Breathe. Slow.  Seek. God is with you, even now.