Today’s scripture: Psalm 12:6-8
I’ve written before (and will certainly write again J) that I love God’s word! I am
eternally (and I mean that literally) grateful that He chose to leave us a
document, inspired by the Spirit and written by men, that tells us about Him
and how we should live to please Him.
Studying and meditating on God’s word is so very, very important for
Christ-followers. If we want to know Him, if we want to be like Christ, if we
want to serve well, we need to spend time in the “pure words” of the
scriptures.
I’m part of a small group of ladies that meets weekly to discuss what God has
taught us through His word and through the various studies we go through. And
every time, even if I’ve read passages before, I always learn something new.
And the more I study and meditate, I’m drawn even closer to God.
Let me encourage you now: If you’re not spending daily time with the Lord in
study and meditation of His word, please schedule that time! It’ll become the
most important part of your day!
Today’s
scripture: Psalm 12:5
My heart yearns more and more for heaven. The older I get, the more my body
seems to fail me. Pain increases. Energy decreases. And honestly? Whenever I
hear about a believer’s death? My first thought is, “How blessed she is! She’s
with Jesus!”
For some reason known only to Him, though, God continues to keep me here on
earth. I know He has a purpose … still. So, although I really would love to be
in the presence of my Savior, somedays, all I can do is groan … and pray for
the “safety” of God’s arms. For strength. For comfort. For peace.
And I trust that He’ll give me exactly what I need. For today.
Today’s scripture: Psalm 12:1-4
I read today’s scripture, and my first thought is: Nothing has changed. Year after year. Century after century.
Nothing has changed.
So many today arrogantly “speak falsehood” with “double heart[s].” They ask,
“who is lord over us?” They think they’re in control. It seems that the godly
have, indeed, “cease[d] to be.”
Ahhh … but that’s not true! There are godly men and women around the world. Men
and women who strive to live like Christ. Who give to the poor. Who serve the
“least of these” (Matt. 25:31-46). Who want to do what’s right, to love with
mercy, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 4:8).
We’ve talked time and time again about how it often seems the enemy is winning,
and yes, we do live in a world where the majority don’t know the one true God.
But no matter how many battles the enemy wins, we know who has already won the war! (John 16:33).
Today's
scripture: Psalm 11:7
Our God is perfect. Holy. Righteous.
He is sinless ... and we are sinful. We are flawed and frail and fickle. To
think we can be in relationship with God is amazing ...
How can He look at our filth? How can He possibly love us?
Because, not only is He righteous and holy, but He is also love.
He looks upon us—in all our willfulness, sinfulness, and rebellion—and He sees
His dearly-loved children. Through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, all
those stains of our sins are wiped away.
Because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice, righteous God sees us as righteous.
It's astounding. Just astounding.
And when I think the God loves the righteousness in me, I want to honor that. I
want to live to bring Him glory; I want to do what is right. I want to be like
my Savior.
I want to please my righteous, loving God.
Today's
scripture: Psalm 11:4-6
On Wednesday, we talked about how we who follow Christ are in a battle, just as
Paul described to the church at Ephesus (Ephesians 6:12). We ended with the
reminder that we just need to trust the Lord.
God never changes. Never. He is always with us. Always.
He is, as the psalmist writes, in His temple and on His throne. He will never "slumber or sleep" (Psalm 121:4). He knows each step we take,
each valley we descend, each mountaintop we conquer.
He also sees the acts of our enemies. He sees the wicked and unrighteous. He
sees those who deliberately turn their backs on Him and persecute His children.
While, indeed, the wicked seem to be winning battle after battle,
one day each and every person who ever lived will stand before that throne ...
no, they will kneel before that
throne and confess Christ as Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).
Tragically, those who seem to be winning battles now will lose the final war,
and they will be separated from the One whom they denied ... forever.
Now that I think about it, our fight shouldn't be against those who demean our
faith. No. Our battle should be against a mutual enemy: the one who would love
nothing more than to drag people to his own fate. We need to fight him for the
souls of unbelievers.
We know who wins the war (John 16:33), and we who follow that Conqueror need to
reach as many as we can to the winning side.
Today's scripture: Psalm 11:1-3
We are in a battle. A very real battle. And it's not the "wars and rumors
of wars" that were prophesied about (Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7). No. We who
follow Christ are in a war with those who would demean or destroy our faith.
Throughout the world, Christ-followers are being ridiculed, persecuted, and
martyred, just because they choose to proclaim the truth of the Bible. Many,
many times, it seems like the enemy is winning ... and it feels like our
"foundations are destroyed."
Today's psalm asks a question: "What can the righteous do?" We'll
elaborate on this more on Friday, but the answer is already there: "In the
Lord I put my trust ..."
When the battles are fierce, when everyone around us tells us we're wrong, when
the world's values seem to be overtaking everything ... then the only thing we
can do is trust the One who created all things. The One who is in loving,
sovereign control. The One who knows exactly what's happening in each and every
life.
The One who loves us more than we can imagine and far more than we deserve.
Today's scripture: Psalm 10:16-18
Yes. It seems the bad guys are winning battle after battle. Corruption.
Perversion. Immorality. It can make even the most faithful hang her head in
despair.
Ah. But we know Who wins the war.
Read the first line of today’s scripture again: "The Lord, our Lord, is
King forever and ever." He has heard—and will hear—"the desire of the
humble." He has heard—and will hear—our cries.
And He will one day do justice. One day, we all—each and every one of us—will
stand before His throne, and those of us who follow Him will receive rewards
according to how we’ve served Him.
One day, those who chose not to follow Him will receive judgment. Those who
have oppressed, those who have lived thumbing their noses at God, those who
have flagrantly lived in ungodliness will be judged.
Now read the last line of this psalm. I’m no theologian, and again, this psalm
seems to be more about man than Satan, but wouldn’t you agree that the enemy
could be described as “the man of the earth”? And if so, one day, he will
oppress no more.
Find hope in these words today, my friend. Be encouraged, knowing that one day,
all the pain and suffering you’re facing today will be over. We will be
face-to-face with our King—forever and ever.
Today's scripture: Psalm 10:12-15
Have you ever felt forgotten? Have you ever suffered through a season and felt
alone? The last few devotionals have focused on the wicked’s pride and arrogance, and
how they seem to be winning. They say God has forgotten.
Today is where hope begins. I said on Wednesday that our God never forgets us, and I
believe that with all my heart. Even when I “forgot” Him, He never forgot me.
He never forgets you.
All we have to do is cry out to Him.
I’ve always found real comfort reading the psalms—that's mainly why I decided
to focus again on the psalms in 2018. So often the writers cry out to God for
intervention, for protection, for salvation. And they did so with the assurance
that God listened. Always.
We too can cry out to God. We can plea that He not forget the humble. We can
ask for His help, knowing He will help us.
He really will. In His time. According
to His plan.
Always.
Today's scripture: Psalm 10:8-11
Monday, I wrote that sometimes it seems like the enemy is winning. Psalm 10
continues that thought. According to the New
American Standard Bible, this is a psalm praying for the overthrow of the
wicked, and I agree. But I also see it as how the enemy of our souls behaves.
The enemy—prideful, arrogant, a liar, a murderer—seems to be described quite
well in today’s verses.
Lurking. Murders the innocent. Lies in wait secretly.
God has forgotten …
And sometimes it seems like God really has forgotten us. When the pain is
unrelenting. When the checking account is empty and rent is due. When the
doctor says, “I’m so sorry.” When that prodigal is far from home.
God—at times—seems so far away. Prayers—at times—go no further than the
ceiling. What do we do then?
I often speak of the gift of hindsight. I’ve experienced a lot in my five+
decades on this earth. Abuse. Infertility. Chronic pain. And many, many times,
God seemed to have forgotten me. But with that gift of hindsight, I can see He
never, ever did. Even through twenty years of rebellion, He never, ever did.
And everything that’s happened—even those things my enemies did for evil—God
used for good. Everything.
Be strong through whatever season you’re going through, my friend. And know one
thing: God never forgets you. Never.
Today's scripture: Psalm 10:1-7
Sometimes, I watch the news or read the headlines, and it
seems like the bad guys are winning … a lot.
The writer of this psalm described our world really, really well. It’s full of
people who are prospering and prideful. Even more, countless deny the existence
of the one true God.
Deceit. Cursing. Renouncing the Lord. Sound familiar?
It’s almost painful when it seems like those of us who follow Jesus are
losing—jobs, health, relationships—when the “wicked” are thriving. And we cry
the words of the psalmist, "Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?”
I’ve asked the same question. Days when I drag myself from bed because the pain
is so intense. Days when politicians are caught in lies—but “spin” their way
out. Days when people die in catastrophic natural events while celebrities talk of
their triple-digit car purchase.
The psalmist continues, “Why do
You hide in times of trouble?”
Yes, sometimes it seems like God is far away, hiding in times of trouble.
Sometimes it feels like the enemy is indeed winning. And it’s really hard.
During these times, my hope comes from a favorite verse. I pray as you face
your own enemy, these words will give you hope too:
"These
things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you
have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (NASB, John
16:33)
Our enemies may be
winning a battle or two, but our Lord Jesus Christ has already won the war!
Today's scripture: Psalm 9:19-20
There’s Steven Curtis Chapman song where he sings, “You are God, and I am not.”
Jehovah God is the Creator. We are the created. He is infinite. We are finite.
He is Savior. We are sinner.
Yet, we live in a world where a lot of people think they can be their own gods.
They are self-sufficient. They are in control. They’re more than mere men—or so
they think. But they're sadly—and eternally—mistaken.
I believe with all I am there is one God and one only. And I believe with all I
am He’s the God of the Bible. There is no other. And man (and I’m using the
generic “man”) certainly isn’t god—in any way, shape or form. It saddens me
that we live in a nation where God has been neglected or forgotten or outright
denied. And it may take God’s having to “put them in fear” for this nation to
“know that they are but men.”
He’s chastised nations that have rejected Him in the past. He may just have to
do the same with us … and perhaps He already is. Financial crises. Political
scandals. Mass shootings. Hmmm. Perhaps He’s trying to get our attention.
We need a reawakening. We need a revival. We need to remember that we are but
men.
Today's scripture: Psalm 9:18
I’m not needy in the sense I have little or no material possessions. I’m
blessed with shelter and food and clothing—those things the Lord promises to
provide for His children. I’m not afflicted in the sense that enemies are on my
doorstep day and night. I’m equally blessed to live in a nation where I can
worship freely and live in freedom.
But I am needy. I need grace. I need strength. I need God to hold me up and
sometimes even carry me.
And I am afflicted. I’ve often written about some chronic health problems I
deal with. There are days when I honestly struggle to get out of bed. Just
lately, I’ve had more of those days than not.
Yet, I have hope. I know I’m not forgotten. I know my Abba wraps His arms of
love around me. I know He has a purpose even for my pain.
What do you need today? How are you afflicted? Do you feel forgotten? Are you
without hope?
If you’re a child of God, if you’ve accepted the free gift of salvation through
His Son, you are not forgotten. You are not without hope. Lay all your burdens
at the foot of God’s throne. Trust that He really will work all things out for
good (Rom. 8:28). And one day, when you stand before that throne, you can be confident
you’ll never need, never hurt, never cry—ever again.
Today's scripture: Psalm 9:17
These are very sobering words—or they should be. One day, every person who
chooses not to follow the one true God will forever reside in Sheol—hell.
Whether you believe in a literal “fire and brimstone” hell, countless will
experience an even greater suffering: eternal separation from their loving God.
Forever separated. How heartbreaking.
We who know the truth need to share it with everyone. We need to do all we
possibly can to keep others from that eternal separation. My mother-in-law had
a neighbor who has such a heart for Jesus. One of her first questions to people
is: “Are you a Christian?” And if they’re not, she sweetly and lovingly
befriends them. Not pushing her faith, but making sure they know truth.
I’m convicted. I’m never that bold, but I need to be. I need to take every
opportunity to share truth. I don’t want to be the reason someone doesn’t hear
about the love of God and His grace and mercy.
Help me, Lord, to be bold to tell Your
truth whenever and wherever I can. Let me be light in a dark world. Let me be
Your voice. Your hands. Your feet. Amen.
