psalms

God’s Word Is Pure

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Psalm 12:6 says, “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

Yesterday I listened to a message on how prayer is to be our priority 

He said, “Prayer is the breath of dependence.”

He talked about the Welch revival. A group of folks were praying. A young deacon read Psalm 24

Then asked the Lord. “Are my hands clean? Are my thoughts pure?”

Our thought life is purified when we bring God’s pure word into our hearts

David wrote Psalm 26. Verse 2 is a prayer of dependence we can use. There is only One who knows the source of our thoughts 

It says, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart.” 

Prove means to test. Try means to refine. Our trials are designed to expose the hidden dross that will weaken our faith. 1 Peter 1:7

What Is Godliness? Part One

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1 Timothy 6:6 says, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” Our church’s small group is going through “Respectable Sins” by Jerry Bridges. His definition of godliness is like one I never heard before. It is living with the constant awareness of our need for the Lord.

It reminds me of John 15:5 that says, “…for without Me you can do nothing.” Yet how many times we live on auto pilot. We often make plans without consulting the Lord. 

I love David’s example. Here is a passage I frequently visit in  my mind. He was faced with a desperate situation. 2 Samuel 5:19 says, “So David inquired of the Lord…” and the Lord gave him specific directions.

Then the same scene was repeated. David did not go out on his own. Verse 23 says, “Therefore David inquired of the Lord…” and this time the Lord gave him a totally different direction. Both the same situations, but the Lord’s way was not the same.

What Blocks Vitality?

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This is my online devotional that was posted today on The Life Project
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.Psalm 32:3
Let’s pick up the context of David’s psalm. It started out as the blessedness of forgiven sin. Then it went into how David’s bones were affected by his unconfessed sin. I encourage you to think about your own life. How healthy are your bones?

Here is a verse from a new song the Holy Spirit gave me called “Rejoicing Bones”

When I thought about my circumstances I became gloomy inside.
My heart was getting heavy and my peace destroyed.
Then in Your Word You revealed the secret of health.
My bones are affected when my heart is in despair.

In verse four David revealed the effects of his unconfessed sin. It says, “For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.”

Picture this as a dry creek bed. There is no running water, no vegetation along the bank, no fish swimming, and no animals coming to drink.Psalm 32:5 (Amplified) explains God’s way. It says, “I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord (continually unfolding the past till all is told)—then You (instantly) forgave me the guilt and iniquity of my sin. Selah (pause, and calmly think of that)!” 

When we confess our sin, the Lord is quick to forgive us and to cleanse away the guilt and the shame that was blocking our vitality.

Lord, I am so grateful that my sinful thoughts are not hidden from you. Help me to always live in the present, being fully aware that you know what is in my heart. Since my bones are affected by my thoughts, help me to stay centered on you in every circumstance of my life.

Stress Reduction~Part One

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David was stressed. In Psalm 31 he described what the stress was doing to him physically. Verse 9-10 says, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent in grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.”

At one point in David’s life, king Saul hunted him to kill him. David was on the run, hiding in rock formations and caves. He lived a lot in his sympathetic nervous system. Yet David knew that the Lord was with him.

In Psalm 61 he wrote that he was overwhelmed. Then in verse 3 he recounted how the Lord has been his protector. It says, “For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy.” Psalm 144:1 says, “Blessed by the Lord my Rock…”

Nothing Is Too Hard For God

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Job 5:9 says, “Who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.” Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.”

I love Romans 11:33. It says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.”

He knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows our words before we speak them. Nothing is hidden from Him. We can trust Him with the unknowns in our life. Psalm 85:13 says, “Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.

We will never go through anything but that the Lord went before us to prepare the way. David understood this. In Psalm 18:30 he wrote, “As for God His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”

Out Of The Dust~Part Two

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Psalm 40:2 says, “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.” There is a hymn. In part it says, “I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore. Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.”

The Lord is our Rescuer. I have a friend that was just rescued through amazing God-orchestrated circumstances. His testimony could be as Psalm 116. Verse 8-9 says, “For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.”

I am memorizing Psalm 116. Verse 5 says, “Gracious is the Lord and righteous; yes, our God is merciful.” God’s mercy endures forever. Psalm 136.

Fear Of The Lord~Part One

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I memorized Psalm 111 and then went to Psalm 112. The last verse in 111 and the first verse in 112 were written about the fear of the Lord. This is what captured my mind. Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments…”

Psalm 112:1 says, “…Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.” Noted are two characteristics attributed to walking in the fear of the Lord. One is that they are doers, and the other is that they are delighting. Both were written about God’s word in an ongoing active sense.

You can read Psalm 112:2-8 for yourself. It outlines the fruitful legacy of the one who walks in the fear of the Lord. Descendants. Generations. We have the opportunity to impact and influence others as we walk in the fear of the Lord. 

Power Of Intention~Part One

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David often used two words in his psalms that stated his intention. “I will” primes the pump. It signals our brain that we intend to do something, then our brain instructs our body for action. 

I was thinking about this as I started to memorize David’s Psalm 111. Verse 1 says, “Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart…” Our flesh can be the enemy of our intentions. “I will” states intention, but David’s use of ‘whole heart’ involved his reliance on the Lord.

Case in point is Psalm 86:11. David was looking to the Lord. It says, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” David’s intention remained focused on the Lord. Verse 12 says, “I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore.”

Created To Praise ~ Part One

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I memorized Psalm 96. Next I started memorizing Psalm 98. It starts out like Psalm 96 did. Verse 1 says, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things…” He is the subject of our new songs. I love to wake up singing little songs that bubble up when I focus on Him.

Here is something that I noted in both psalms. Creation gets involved. Psalm 96:11-12 incorporates the heavens, earth, sea, field, and all the trees of the woods. In Psalm 98 it is the sea, the world and all who dwell in it. I love verse 8. Just picture it as you read the words. “Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together.”

What is creation’s focus? Psalm 96:13 says, “For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and  the peoples with His truth.”

Sing A New Song! Part One

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I started to memorize Psalm 96. Verse 1 says, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord all the earth.” Then I looked at a note in my Bible. This psalm comes from David’s psalm in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36.

Let me set the stage for you. 1 Chronicles 15:28 says that King David and all Israel, “…brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets and with cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps.” 

Verse 29 says that King David was whirling and playing music. As I am repeating verse 1 over and over, I am picturing this great assembly of praise. Psalm 96 is so jubilant with heartfelt worship. 

It says, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.