Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I love the Psalms! I can always find something in the Psalms that matches my circumstances, my mood, my wants and desires. I am so grateful to God that He uses David's and other psalmist's words in the Scriptures. We see real people dealing with real and often horrific circumstances with real emotions and then we see the writers turn it around with a focus on God. Yes, I am very grateful for the Psalms.

I have usually had an indifference to Psalm 1. To me, it never reached my "emotions"... until I began this study , A 30 Day Walk with God in the Psalms, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Answering the questions she poses in her study guide set me to thinking and meditating on this rich psalm.

As we begin this walk through the Psalms it is important to note that the words, "law", "statutes", "commands", "rules", "precepts", "testimonies", "words", all refer to the Word of God.

There are many facets to this particular psalm but I want to focus on the writer's "delight" in the law of the Lord.
Verses 1 and 2 of Psalm 1 say:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law He meditates day and night."

Did you catch that one word? He DELIGHTS in the law of the Lord! He takes great pleasure and joy in the Word of God! How do we NOT walk in the counsel of the wicked nor sit in the seat of scoffers? By DELIGHTING in the Word of God! It is easy to let our culture influence us! Especially in this time of our very rough economy, in this time where abortion is accepted as good, where ungodly lifestyles are applauded etc etc... where evil is considered good... it is easy to be influenced to either accept these things or to be fearful .. are you influenced to be fearful?
Do your circumstances cause you to fear? Do your favorite political pundits cause you to fear and despair of hope? Do you let music and movies influence the way you live?

OR

Do you DELIGHT in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night? Now, of course we cannot think of God's word 24/7 but we CAN let it influence us 24/7! This kind of living, depending on and being influenced by and DELIGHTING in the Word of God yields fruit in our lives!

Psalm 119:15-16 says: I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

We see this theme over and over again in the Psalms, particularly in Psalm 119... the psalmist expresses his delight in the Word of God and knows that meditating on it and fixing our eyes on the ways of God that we read about in His Scriptures is DELIGHTFUL! It is pleasing to God and it is beneficial to our souls.

May you find DELIGHT in God's Word today and everyday. If you don't, ask Him! God is pleased to open up our eyes to the truths of Scriptures! If we want to be influenced by His Word He will answer that prayer. Ask Him!
I know, I know, I'm supposed to be blogging the Psalms and I haven't even begun doing it yet but I couldn't resist blogging about what I read in Exodus this morning!

Exodus 35: 30-35

"Then Moses said to the people of Israel, "See, the Lord has called by name Bezakek, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahismach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver of by a designer of by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver- by any sort of workman or skilled designer."

God had just given Moses the instructions for how to build the tabernacle and THEN God, in His kindness and mercy provided the people to do the job AND gave them ALL that they needed (skill, intelligence etc) in order to obey God in the specifics of building the tabernacle.

I was newly amazed this morning at how this is just one of many examples of how God gives us what we need to accomplish what He commands! God does not leave us to ourselves! He gives us all we need to do His will! What love is this??? It is amazing!

How do I see the Gospel in this? God demands righteousness of us. He is a Holy God and cannot tolerate or let sin go unpunished. So what does God do? He provides a Savior. Jesus, God Himself, came as a man, lived a perfectly sinless life, died on the cross bearing our sins and recieving upon himself the wrath of God due us!!! He then rises from the dead, ascends to heaven and will come again in glory! God regenerates us, by His grace we turn to Jesus in faith and repentance and receive the righteousness that was Christ's as our own and we will not bear the wrath of God because Jesus bore it for us!!! AND we will live with God forever in glory!

Do you see it? God gave to us what we need to accomplish what He asks. He gives to us the righteousness He demands. This love of God is seen over and over and over again in the Scriptures.

How kind of God to show me the Gospel as I read Exodus.

May you be encouraged by the Gospel today! God gives us all we need to do what He requires.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

STAY TUNED!!

For the next couple of months, more or less, I will be posting about a bible study that I am a part
of with 2 other women from my church. We are going through a book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss titled,

(Please click on the link to go to Nancy's web site, Revive Our Hearts). One of the women in the group suggested that I post my thoughts about the psalms we study as we go through the book! So, I have accepted the challenge and will soon be posting on Psalm 1!

Thanks to Nancy for a great book that directs my eyes to God's Word and helps me dig in and see the treasures there.

So, come back soon and see what's going on in my heart regarding Psalm 1.


Tuesday, March 03, 2009

How amazed do you remain at the works of God? Have they become mundane to you? Do you read the bible and yawn and say, "Ho-hum"... heard this before"? May it never be so! Do you realize that God parted the Red Sea? I mean PARTED IT? He divided it! There were two walls of water, one on each side as the Israelites passed through on dry land! This should astound us!!!! Please read the following scriptures from the book of Exodus and ask God to give you a fresh perspective. Don't skip it because you've read it a million times before! Ask Him to make you amazed at His works and His Word!! He will do it! And then... as you face difficult circumstances remember that God parted the Red Sea and He will do for you whatever is necessary to bring you to where He wants to bring you! Walk in HIS steadfast love and HIS faithfulness and be amazed! (I've also included a clip from the animated film Prince of Egypt.)

Exodus 14: 10-30

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were . 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.