"Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—" Psalm 103:2
There has certainly been a lot of discussion about insurance these days. And when it comes to insurance one of the important questions is about the benefits and yes the price for those benefits.
For most of us there is great uncertainty about the benefits and the price of those benefits in the coming years.
But when it comes to God and a relationship with God the benefits are "out of this world" and you can't beat the price. there not free for they cost Jesus his life but for us the cost is as simple as our faith and trust. That sounds like a wonderful deal especially when you consider the benefits. However I think we all take the benefits for granted or at least we forget the benefits so let the psalmist in psalm 103 remind us once again of the benefits or our faith.
To summarize the list: God forgives sins, heals diseases, redeems our life from the pit, crowns you with love and compassion, satisfies your desires, works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed, makes know the ways of Moses and the deeds of Israel
Those are just the benefits found in the first seven verses. Note that I highlighted the verbs to demonstrate God's action but the benefits go on.
The rest of the chapter speak to his compassion, love and the slowness of his anger. The benefits continue with love being shown to those who don't deserve it. So great is his compassion and love he removes or sins as far as the east is from the west. He has the compassion of a father for his children. He has everlasting love toward those who fear him and those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. And if we think that these benefits only last for a short time we need only be reminded that the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all. In other words his word is final no one can come along and change the rules. God's benefits cannot be revoked!
I don't know about you but those benefits far exceed anything that Flo can offer when it comes to insurance and there is no better bundling of those discounts. In short its an unbelievable deal.
Its too good to be true but if we believe in his benefits we will surely do a lot of praising! Its not surprising that in this psalm David starts the Psalm saying, "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-" Actually David proclaims, "Praise the Lord" six times!
To ponder: How much praising have you been doing lately? If your low in the praise department could it possibly be that you've forgotten or at least taken for granted God's wonderful benefit plan? If that's you I invite you to reread psalm 103 and marvel at God's great love
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Enter his Courts with praise Psalm 100
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise: give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4
Worship in the ancient Jewish tradition was always filled with praise. When Pilgrims traveling to the temple and the Courts of the Lord they began with praise and thanks giving. When Pilgrims traveling from a distance caressed the mountain to view Jerusalem below there was shouting and spontaneous singing, laughing and dancing. Such was their excitement about being in the Holy City!
In the psalm for today the Palmist points out three reasons to worship and thank God. In verse 5 it says, "For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generation." First God is good, Second God's love endures forever, Lastly God is faithful. When we put all these together we see a great picture of an awesome God!
Yes, God can do all things but is God good? Oh course! We might say this so flippantly without thinking about this attribute but just because God created us and God has all authority doesn't mean that God is also good. God could have every right to be a judgmental and revengeful especially considering what we have done to our world and how we have hurt others and ignored God. But despite all of this God is good! Our God cares for us and watches over us like a shepherd watched his sheep.
The Psalmist continues to build on to this statement by saying that God's love endures forever. In the book of 1 John it says that God is love. God is the definition of love. God is the essence of love and this love will last forever. God's love is unchanging.
Finally God is faithful. God is faithful to the point that when it meant that He would have to die on a cross, he would do it. For he is faithful to his nature as a loving Savior. Yes God is good. God is love which will have no end and God is faithful to act according to his nature. This is reason to give thanks. This gives us reason to shout, to laugh, to sing, and to worship God with all that we have.
To Ponder: When you come to worship on Sunday morning are you ready to shout for joy and worship with gladness? Do you come before the Lord with joyful songs. This Sunday enter the courts or the foyer or the sanctuary of your church with great expectation and joy!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Our Shelter Psalm 91:9-12
One of the important words of this
psalm is the word refuge. The Psalmist
found refuge or a place of protection in the Lord. In the Bible it says that the Lord is the
defender of the weak. The Lord is the
defender of the pour and the righteous.
The Lord is the protector of those who turn to him. God is our refuge. He is our shelter our
fortress our rock. In Him we put our
trust and he shelters us under his wings.
And don’t we know that there are many predators in our
world. There are those who would desire
to take advantage of us, harm us and lie to us. But out text says, “If you make the Most High your dwelling even
the Lord, who is my refuge then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come
near your tent. For he will command his
angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways’ they will lift you up in
their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Psalm
91:9-12
Those are some mighty wonderful promises especially in a day
of uncertainty. But there are some
conditions to these promises. No there
are no conditions to God’s love but we
still have to make the Lord our refuge. Just like we have to hide under a
canopy or an overhang to avoid getting wet during a rain storm so too we have to hide under the shelter of the
Lord to avoid facing natural consequences.
Sometimes I think God allows those consequences to get us to return to
Him.
So who is your refuge today? Are you trying to go it
alone? Do you rest on your own
resources, your mind, your spirit, your wit, your goodness, and your cunning? How is that working for you?
In Isaiah 28 it says that we have made our lies our
refuge. I believe that statement is true
of many people today. They are so good
at twisting the truth and fabricating lies that it’s hard for them to know what
the truth is. Some people are one lie
ahead of the pack. However this is an
awful refuge. It is building your house
on shifting sands. One day the lies will
catch up to you. The alternative is to
build upon a firm foundation which is the Word of God. Such a refuge will set us free, though the
truth might be very painful like a surgeon’s knife at least at first.
To Ponder: Is the Lord your refuge today? In times of troubles do you always turn to
Him or are there other places of refuge that you sometimes lean? If that is the case I invite you. Actually God invites you to rest in the
shadow of the Almighty. Make the Lord
your God in whom you trust.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Early will I seek You and be satisfied all day long Psalm 63:1
(Somehow my post was sent yesterday and not saved for me to complete. So here is my official blog)
Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you, in a dry and thirsty land." KJV
When I was young one of the only times that I wanted to get up really early was on Christmas morning. Sometimes I would try to convince my parents to get up as early as 5:30 am. Usually we were up and opening presents before 7:00 am. I couldn't wait to get up to unwrap the presents under the tree and to see what Santa Clause had left behind. I guess I remember a couple other times when I wanted to get up early especially when I was going to go out early to go fishing with my Grandpa Fisher. There was a sense of excitement! But especially when it came to Christmas there seemed to be a let down come the middle of the afternoon. No not because I didn't get nice things that I enjoyed under the Christmas tree but because it was all over.
David in our Psalm shares this kind of excitement to be up early with his God. Charles Spurgeon wrote of this passage saying, "Communion with God is so sweet that the chill of the morning is forgotten, and the luxury of the couch is despised." Truly you can sense the note of excitement in his words. But David's longing went much deeper. There is a sense of desperation for the Lord like the longing we have for water and air itself. The Apostle Paul would later say words like, "for me to live is Christ.."
David was in the literal wilderness of Judah which was more like a desert then what we would consider a wilderness. He knew what it was like to run for his life from his enemies and seek the shelter in the Lord. He knew what it was like to walk with the Lord. In the KJV it says in verse 6 "My soul follows close behind you; Your right hand upholds me."
So here is the major difference between my times of looking forward to the morning and David's. While the joy of the morning faded for me David's joy never faded. He longed to be with the Lord morning noon and night and he found joy in the Lord at all times. David in verse 3 and 4 proclaims, "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in your name."
To ponder: May we all find such joy and anticipation to be in the Lord's presence today. We have such a wonderful God. If you're empty inside fill that place with God. The Lord will not disappoint.
Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you, in a dry and thirsty land." KJV
When I was young one of the only times that I wanted to get up really early was on Christmas morning. Sometimes I would try to convince my parents to get up as early as 5:30 am. Usually we were up and opening presents before 7:00 am. I couldn't wait to get up to unwrap the presents under the tree and to see what Santa Clause had left behind. I guess I remember a couple other times when I wanted to get up early especially when I was going to go out early to go fishing with my Grandpa Fisher. There was a sense of excitement! But especially when it came to Christmas there seemed to be a let down come the middle of the afternoon. No not because I didn't get nice things that I enjoyed under the Christmas tree but because it was all over.
David in our Psalm shares this kind of excitement to be up early with his God. Charles Spurgeon wrote of this passage saying, "Communion with God is so sweet that the chill of the morning is forgotten, and the luxury of the couch is despised." Truly you can sense the note of excitement in his words. But David's longing went much deeper. There is a sense of desperation for the Lord like the longing we have for water and air itself. The Apostle Paul would later say words like, "for me to live is Christ.."
David was in the literal wilderness of Judah which was more like a desert then what we would consider a wilderness. He knew what it was like to run for his life from his enemies and seek the shelter in the Lord. He knew what it was like to walk with the Lord. In the KJV it says in verse 6 "My soul follows close behind you; Your right hand upholds me."
So here is the major difference between my times of looking forward to the morning and David's. While the joy of the morning faded for me David's joy never faded. He longed to be with the Lord morning noon and night and he found joy in the Lord at all times. David in verse 3 and 4 proclaims, "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in your name."
To ponder: May we all find such joy and anticipation to be in the Lord's presence today. We have such a wonderful God. If you're empty inside fill that place with God. The Lord will not disappoint.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Early will I seek You
(Somehow my post was sent yesterday and not saved for me to complete. So here is my official blog)
Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you, in a dry and thirsty land." KJV
When I was young one of the only times that I wanted to get up really early was on Christmas morning. Sometimes I would try to convince my parents to get up as early as 5:30 am. Usually we were up and opening presents before 7:00 am. I couldn't wait to get up to unwrap the presents under the tree and to see what Santa Clause had left behind. I guess I remember a couple other times when I wanted to get up early especially when I was going to go out early to go fishing with my Grandpa Fisher. There was a sense of excitement! But especially when it came to Christmas there seemed to be a let down come the middle of the afternoon. No not because I didn't get nice things that I enjoyed under the Christmas tree but because it was all over.
David in our Psalm shares this kind of excitement to be up early with his God. Charles Spurgeon wrote of this passage saying, "Communion with God is so sweet that the chill of the morning is forgotten, and the luxury of the couch is despised." Truly you can sense the note of excitement in his words. But David's longing went much deeper. There is a sense of desperation for the Lord like the longing we have for water and air itself. The Apostle Paul would later say words like, "for me to live is Christ.."
David was in the literal wilderness of Judah which was more like a desert then what we would consider a wilderness. He knew what it was like to run for his life from his enemies and seek the shelter in the Lord. He knew what it was like to walk with the Lord. In the KJV it says in verse 6 "My soul follows close behind you; Your right hand upholds me."
So here is the major difference between my times of looking forward to the morning and David's. While the joy of the morning faded for me David's joy never faded. He longed to be with the Lord morning noon and night and he found joy in the Lord at all times. David in verse 3 and 4 proclaims, "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in your name."
To ponder: May we all find such joy and anticipation to be in the Lord's presence today. We have such a wonderful God. If you're empty inside fill that place with God. The Lord will not disappoint.
Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you, in a dry and thirsty land." KJV
When I was young one of the only times that I wanted to get up really early was on Christmas morning. Sometimes I would try to convince my parents to get up as early as 5:30 am. Usually we were up and opening presents before 7:00 am. I couldn't wait to get up to unwrap the presents under the tree and to see what Santa Clause had left behind. I guess I remember a couple other times when I wanted to get up early especially when I was going to go out early to go fishing with my Grandpa Fisher. There was a sense of excitement! But especially when it came to Christmas there seemed to be a let down come the middle of the afternoon. No not because I didn't get nice things that I enjoyed under the Christmas tree but because it was all over.
David in our Psalm shares this kind of excitement to be up early with his God. Charles Spurgeon wrote of this passage saying, "Communion with God is so sweet that the chill of the morning is forgotten, and the luxury of the couch is despised." Truly you can sense the note of excitement in his words. But David's longing went much deeper. There is a sense of desperation for the Lord like the longing we have for water and air itself. The Apostle Paul would later say words like, "for me to live is Christ.."
David was in the literal wilderness of Judah which was more like a desert then what we would consider a wilderness. He knew what it was like to run for his life from his enemies and seek the shelter in the Lord. He knew what it was like to walk with the Lord. In the KJV it says in verse 6 "My soul follows close behind you; Your right hand upholds me."
So here is the major difference between my times of looking forward to the morning and David's. While the joy of the morning faded for me David's joy never faded. He longed to be with the Lord morning noon and night and he found joy in the Lord at all times. David in verse 3 and 4 proclaims, "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in your name."
To ponder: May we all find such joy and anticipation to be in the Lord's presence today. We have such a wonderful God. If you're empty inside fill that place with God. The Lord will not disappoint.
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