Psalm 107: Let The Redeemed of the Lord Say So

Psalm 107

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

I look around me and I see these people in these verses. In the shadow of death, hearts bowed down with hard labor, spurning the counsel of God, and they don't know why they feel like they are in chains. And I also remember that this was me, and is me without the blood of Christ covering me. But He has burst my bonds apart! Oh, that I would live in light of this freedom everyday!

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble

I am so encouraged today by these verses. How easy it seems to advance the Kingdom of God! We all begin in the shadow of death, in chains. Jesus comes and forgives our sins and breaks our bonds. We are so happy to be free that we cannot help but shout his praises. He is good, His steadfast love endures forever! Others in chains hear our cries of joy, and wonder how they could be free from their chains. We tell them the good news of Jesus, and he breaks their chains and they shout for joy, and others hear their cries... and on and on. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

God, let me be a voice. I have seen you work, Lord, out of my feeble attempt at evangelism. You redeemed me, gave me hope, made me happy, and all I had to do was say so. There are so many others around me who are in the desert, and in the darkness. Give them ears to hear, Lord, because we are going to shout your praises!

Psalm 46: The Lord of Hosts Is With Us

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

You are God! The nations are raging, the kingdoms tottering. But when you utter your voice, the earth melts and bends to your will. You are our refuge and our strength, you are our only help in trouble. Utter your voice today, Lord, and I will be still and know that you are God.

Psalm75: It Is I Who Keep Steady Its Pillars

Psalm 75

2 “At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”

How wonderful to come across this Psalm on the eve of Inauguration Day!

As I have tried to gaze into the future of America in these last months, I am unsure and afraid. I am apprehensive about the fate of even the relatively simple lifestyle that I now live. I am becoming more and more convinced that those who prophesy of the crumbling of the United States, though completely unfounded biblically, may prove to be quite true practically.

But then God says to me, "when the earth totters and all its inhabitants, It is I who keep steady its pillars." And I realize all that is unfolding, wherever it leads, is just another bend in the road of God's redemptive history. It dawns on me that the prosperity and the success that this country has seen in the past has not been due the our perfect expression of government, or our great "Christian" leaders, or the goodwill of the American people, or our capitalist economy, or our mighty military. It has been God who has been holding it up all along. And I dare say that He was not prospering America due to its over abundance of righteous people, or due to the fact that they used to pray in public schools, or display the ten commandments in the courtrooms. It was simply part of His redemption story!

So, wherever we are headed as a nation in the future, I am certain it will be just where God intends us to be.

6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.

And it may prove to be a glorious time indeed! When things are going well, the world tends to feel pretty self-sufficient. People are wrapped up in personal comfort and momentary pleasure. When things are miserable, people tend to think about more ultimate questions and start to wonder about God and why they exist. This could be a wonderful opportunity for the church to shine the light of the gospel in a way not possible just a few years ago. My husband said it best, God has raised up Barack Obama, (along with every other leader) for such a time as this! Wherever any president thinks he is leading this country, whether good or evil in our eyes, we need to remember, it is God who executes judgment, putting down one country, one leader, and lifting another up.

1 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds.

Lord, help me to see with Kingdom eyes! Help me to count this economic and political hardship as opportunity. Help me to think not of what it may do to my personal lifestyle, and what turmoil it may cause, but help me think of the wonderful opportunity it creates to recount your wondrous deed, to share Christ and to add worshippers to your Kingdom! Father, be with our leaders, conservative and liberal, Republican and Democrat, Christian and Atheist, and guide them in the way that best serves your Kingdom. Let us see that this is just the next step toward the day when the skies will be rolled back and victory will be forever ours!

Psalm 34: Taste and See

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

What freedom! To be able to just look to the Lord and come away radiant and unashamed. I have so much to be ashamed of, and it is the nature of the Christian to feel some kind of virtue in having our sin in the front of our minds. Maybe for a fraction of a second it is virtuous, but if we will turn to the Lord, we do not have to be ashamed! In fact, we SHOULDN'T be ashamed. If we are constantly ashamed and downcast in spirit maybe we are ridiculously self-centered. If we are focused on Christ (who he is and what he has done for us) we will be radiant and our faces will never be ashamed!

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Help me, Lord, to continually get a taste of you, and you will always prove to be good! Refresh me with your living water daily so that I can teach my children and show those all around me that, (in the words of TobyMac) "you can't see it with an untrained eye, but if you take some time you are sure to find it, we complicate something so basic, but once you taste, you gon' chase it like me!"

I need you, Lord. I need your refuge. Help me to be ready for the afflictions that you promise will come. But show me always that you deliver your people. You never leave us. I will not be condemned!

Psalm 73: It Is Good To Be Near God

Psalm 73

73:1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

I cannot number the times I have been envious of the arrogant, and jealous to see the wicked prosper. Or even the Christians prosper. How many times have I thought, "Why do we have to struggle and scrape for pennies? What about the pastors who have new laptops and blackberries and whose wives have closets full of new clothes and every new kitchen gadget and they both make 6 digits speaking at conferences? Wouldn't ministry be so much easier if we didn't have to wonder and fret over how to pay our bills? Or if our van is going to make it another day? Or if our kids are going to have schoolbooks this year? "

Yeah, it might be easier. Or would it? Would I still long to go into the sanctuary of God to discern the truth about life? Would my love of people have to compete with my love of people's praise? Would my worship of God have to compete with my worship of possessions? Would my desire to do be helpful be overrun by my desire to be hip?

My heart truly goes out the pastors and families who are on the other end of the financial spectrum! Especially those who are truly trying to be Christ-centered and humble. The ones that stay faithful are much better people than I, and God has laid a heavy burden on them for His sake! I pray that they endure to the end and receive their rewards!

I thank God for my simple life!

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

Thank you, Lord, for using whatever means necessary for keeping me near you! Even if that means making me scrape for pennies for the rest of my days. I have made the Lord my refuge. There is nothing on earth I desire beside you! And, again, you have allowed all of this that I may tell of all your works.

Psalm 51: Create In Me A Clean Heart

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

5 Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

My sin is ever before me! I am so unworthy of this salvation that I have been given. Whenever I am tempted to think that I have arrived at some higher spiritual marker, God shows me the rebellious child within me! But a broken and contrite heart He will not despise. As quickly as He shows me my sin, He show me my Savior, and restores the joy of my salvation.

But I can't stay there, reveling in my joy, rejoicing in my little Christian box, with my Christian family, in my Christian world. The world I live in is not Christian!

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

Lord, help me not be annoyed at the way that my life is "interrupted!" My life is yours, there can be no such thing as an interruption if I have given my life to you. Help me to use the opportunities that you give me to teach your ways, that sinners will return to you! Open my lips so that my mouth will declare your praise.

Let me be a part of your work, Lord. Let me see your kingdom grow, and people in the communities around me turn to you. Give me opportunity and then give me the words to say and the courage to say them. It begins and ends with you, Lord. Just let me be an instrument.

Psalm 40, Making My Steps Secure

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

If I could only remember that the Lord is inclined to me and hears my cry! Maybe I would wait patiently for Him instead of worrying and fretting and feeling like I am holding the whole world up on my shoulders.

He has set my feet upon a rock and made my steps secure. Wow! If that isn't the ultimate anti-worrying verse. So you mean that I can't make one wrong move and make my whole world crumble? You mean that if I say the wrong thing, I'm not going to fall into oblivion? You mean if I make the wrong decision about whether or not to discipline one of my children for a given offense, they're not going to walk away from the faith and be permanently damaged?

This definitely puts a new song of praise in my mouth. God is the one who drew me up from the pit, and HE is the one who keeps me from falling back into it!

Lord, may my soul rest in you in such a way that those around me can see it! May those who look at my life see one who is not bearing the weight of the world, but rather looking forward to inheriting the earth with the ONE who is actually holding it up! I pray that they would see enough of a reflection of you in me, that many would see and fear and put their trust in you.

17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God