Leaving the Lies Behind
“I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.” (Psalm 120:1–2) Psalm 120 isn’t the happiest of psalms. The psalmist begins in “distress.” The psalm ends with the word “war.” But happy or not, it is honest…and quite relevant. We’re surrounded […]
The Lord is on Our Side
“if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, then they would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger against us. Then the water would have engulfed us; the torrent would have swept over us; the raging water would have swept over us.” (Psalm 124:2–5, CSB) David gives us two […]
The Freest People on Earth
“I lift my eyes to you, the one enthroned in heaven. Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,… so our eyes are on the Lord our God until he shows us favor.” (Psalm 123:1–2, CSB) Psalm 123 is all about freedom. That may sound strange as the song begins by comparing us to servants. […]
Work!
“On the seventh day God completed his work…” (Gen. 2:2) The Bible begins with work. God’s creation of the world is called work. Adam, made in God’s image, was created to “work it (the Garden of Eden) and watch over it.” (Gen. 2:15) I think work is a very important part of what it means […]
The Importance of Worship
“I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”” (Psalm 122:1, CSB) It was Winston Churchill who first said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste” in the context of forming the United Nations after WW II. With that in mind, I’m looking at this Corona […]
Safe and Secure
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.” (Psalm 125:1, CSB) When the psalmist says that those who trust in the Lord can’t be shaken or moved, is he describing you? I want to be a picture of an immovable rock. But the truth of the […]
Your Rod and Staff Comfort Me
“Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) That’s one of the most famous lines from one of the most famous Psalms (we’ll be studying it this Sunday). In this scary and dangerous time…as we navigate “the […]
Don’t Quit!
“Since my youth they have often attacked me— let Israel say—…but they have not prevailed against me. The Lord is righteous; he has cut the ropes of the wicked.” (Psalm 129:1, 2, 4) I think the cornerstone of Psalm 129 is that phrase: “The Lord is righteous.” The psalmist makes that claim in giving the […]
Where will my help come from?
“I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1–2, CSB) Life can be a bit scary, can’t it? Think about all the unknowns…about how many things are out of our control. Think of all the might happens. […]
Like a Tree
“He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” (Psalm 1:3, CSB) The Psalmist is talking about the happy, or blessed, person and uses this beautiful word picture to describe them. How can we be blessed and prosperous? […]
Be Perfekt
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48, CSB) There are some folks out there that will tell you: “Jesus was a great moral teacher who came to show us how to treat each other better. All we need from Jesus is his Sermon on the Mount.” While I agree that Jesus […]
Blessed are Those Who Mourn?
““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:3–4, CSB) We often read Jesus’ famous Beatitudes as virtues for which we should strive. But is it good to be spiritually impoverished? Is it good to mourn? Maybe we’re reading […]
