Psalm 66:16-19 - July 4, 2009

Ps 66:16-19 Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. 17 I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. 18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; 19 but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.

What has God done for you? Are his praises on your lips? Do you joyfully tell of all of the goodness that God has extended towards you? We are called to be boldly outspoken concerning the goodness of the Lord. Not in a proud or confrontational way but in a joyful relational way! Is it your pleasure to speak of God’s love? Is it your delight to make God your boast? Listen to the words of the psalmist and consider the position of a heart so full of praise: Ps 35:28 “My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.” Ps 44:8 “In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.” Ps 71:8 “My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.”Ps 71:15 “My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. When the heart is burning with praise for God it becomes something that flows out of us like a river - like an unstoppable force. There is so much passion in the words of these psalms as they burst forth with a praise that is vibrant “all day long.”

Psalm 66:16-19 is impacting in its call to us because not only is it a praise to the Lord but it is an instruction to those who would listen. This is one of the unique attributes of praise that is born of the Holy Spirit. Within the words of one song there can be praise, exhortation, instruction, prophecy and more. The Spirit of God is such a master craftsman that when He can find a heart that is yielded to His Spirit He is able to create words that are alive with meaning and expression of God’s heart. This particular song is a call to come and see! It has a targeted audience; those who fear the Lord.” It is an exhortation to hold fast to that holy reverence that compels us to turn from sin to a life that is in unity with God’s commands. The particular focus of these verses is on the importance of having a clean heart, not just right actions. Ps. 24:3-4 identifies clean hands and a pure heart as the necessary components to ascend with God to stand before Him in loving relationship. It is when both our actions and our inner desires and motives are pleasing to the Lord that our faith is truly genuine and we can enjoy true fellowship with God.

In 1 John 3:21-22 the Apostle John writes, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” The theme of this verse confirms the principle of the verses we are considering from Psalm 66. In their essence each of these two verses is laying a foundation for effective prayer in the lives of those who have ears to hear. A life of obedience and holiness positions us with confidence before God, and confidence before God is the essential necessity of effective prayer. When we leave the roots of compromise in the inner places of our hearts then we suffer in our inner man. Our own conscience becomes the voice of accusation that robs us of faith as we cry out to the Father. God desires to partner with us in a relationship that is full of purpose but the foundation of this relationship is loving obedience to the will of God. Jesus himself taught the disciples that He willingly restrained himself to only do what He was directed to by the Father as He inquired of Him in prayer. Because Jesus lived a sinless life there was never a moment when His own conscience resisted His prayer of faith. He was able to ascend with God because His heart was clean. We too must hear this invitation to grow in purity of heart and loving faith even as we respond sincerely to the high standards of the word of God that call us to such extravagant acts as loving those who hate us and serving others before ourselves. When we pray from a heart that is living with this kind of faithful obedience we too will see new dimensions of fulfillment in our history of prayer before God.

Psalm 66:8-12 - July 3, 2009

Ps 66:8-12 "Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; 9 he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. 10 For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. 11 You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. 12 You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance." NIV

This passage is both perplexing and wonderful in its revelation of the training ground of God. The psalmist is lifting up a cry of praise before all who will listen. But reflect for a moment upon the nature of this praise as the psalmist relates the journey that he and his people have traveled; “You… tested us. You refined us… You brought us into prison… (You) laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads!” What a list! All of these struggles the psalmist attributes to God. The understanding that the writer communicates is in line with the words of Heb 12:6-7 “…the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.’ 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.”
Through all of these trials this psalmist has resisted the temptation to respond to his trials with bitterness and instead is able to recognize the purpose of God that has been taking place in the midst of his trials and the trials of his people. Where many people would be overwhelmed by such a list of hardships and yield to a bitter and poisoned spirit the psalmist declares in a voice of praise that God has “preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.” Look at what this psalmist has chosen to focus on. Instead of falling into complaint about the difficulties he lifts his voice to celebrate the power of God that has been displayed in keeping his people strong in their faith and stable in their focus. This passage so clearly identifies the reality that every person has a choice of how they will respond in the midst of trial. Will the test that you are going through make you bitter or will it make you strong and grateful!?
There is a second principle that is being related in this passage and that is the understanding of how their story ends. Many times we attempt to pass judgment upon the Lord and His dealings with us before the story is actually over. Imagine if Job had concluded things about God’s character before his story was finished. He lost everything and endured through a horrible season of life but experienced the Lord in a dimension of personal revelation through the process that he had never known before. His testimony was very clear as his trials came to a close as he said in Job 42:5 “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” Not only was Job walking in a much deeper revelation of the Lord through his trials at the end of the journey the scriptures record that he received back twice as much as that which was taken from him through the trials. In the same way David, Joseph and Moses each endured the stripping away of favor and material blessing as they walked through an extended season of testing but in each case the Lord proved faithful as they kept their hearts directed towards him and embraced the humility that these trials worked in their lives. Each one of us must remember that the Lord has not changed in his dealings with men and that even though for a season our circumstances may not reflect the blessed life His word promises us we can know with assurance that our Lord will deliver and provide abundantly for us and for those that we love as we keep our hearts rightly directed towards Him in faith.

Psalm 66:5-7 - July 2, 2009

Ps 66:5-7 "Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! 6 He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot — come, let us rejoice in him. 7 He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations — let not the rebellious rise up against him." NIV

Most people believe that there is a God and most people believe that He has great power and is able to do anything that He wants. Where misunderstanding more commonly disrupts the right understanding of God and the joyful relationship that flows out of this right understanding is found in how each person views the character and nature of this God. Some view God as distant and detached, others view God as an angry Lord ready to quickly punish all disobedience and immaturity. Still others relate to God as requiring great deeds and sacrifice on our part to coax out of his tightly clasped hand the answer to our desperate cries for help. But who is this God we serve?
In Psalm 66 the psalmist invites us to come and see! There is a commonly held phrase that “seeing is believing” and even though we understand God’s requirement that those who walk with Him do so by faith God has not left himself without visible evidence around which our faith can be strengthened. The psalmist points us to consider the mighty act of deliverance He performed when He parted the Red Sea to allow for the escape of the Israelites and to display the power and finality of His judgment upon the Egyptian pharaoh and his army. Through this act He displayed the reality that He indeed rules over the affairs of the nations and at the time of His choosing is able to swiftly intervene and bring justice and deliverance to the oppressed who cry out to Him.
A potent observation that is visible within the words of this psalm is the revelation that though this act was performed specifically on behalf of the people of Israel in the natural understanding of things, the psalmist emphasizes that this act was performed on behalf of man as an example of what He will do for anyone who calls upon Him in faith. God has not restricted Himself to one people or one nation. The great God Jah has offered relationship to all who will reach to
Him in faith.
In this passage the psalmist reminds all who read his words that the Lord “rules forever by His power” and that “His eyes watch the nations.” Every nation is subject to His dominion and the word declares confidently in Ps 19:3 that “There is no speech or language,” where the revelation of God is not speaking forth into the earth through the wondrous things that God has done as a means of reminding man of his accountability to a creator. The earth is filled with the testimony of God’s miraculous deeds and the declaration of His glory and greatness through all created things. What makes this reality powerful is that all of this has been performed for the sake of you and I. God loves us so completely that He shows Himself strong AND willing through the works of His hands on OUR behalf! Yes He wants all men to fear Him but only with the proper reverence that teaches us to live our lives carefully and thoughtfully before Him so that the gifts and talents that He has bestowed upon us are not wasted in self-indulgence or squandered through carelessness. All that He has done in providing such beauty in the earth, giving us His scriptures to read and enjoy and through the working of His many mighty miracle performed throughout human history are a message of love that cries out to us to come and embrace His mighty power and great salvation. Today take the time to consider the great things that He has done. Put aside negative reflections that center around that which you do not have at this moment and let faith rise in your heart as you meditate upon the wonders of our Lord!

Psalm 65:9-13 - July 1, 2009

Ps 65:9-13 "You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. 10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. 11 You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. 12 The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. 13 The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing." NIV

These four verses carry such an image of God’s gracious provision and glad hearted blessing. Not only does God delight in blessing His children but when His favor is upon you the words of Jesus are a fitting description of the richness that He bestows; John 10:10 “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” God cares for the land. Do you have land, dedicate it to God and let Him bless it? God fills the streams so that they provide the people with grain. Do you need a harvest? Dedicate it to God and invite Him to water it! Have you prepared the ground? Ask God to soften it! It is God’s delight to pour out the richest blessing upon your life! When you prosper God’s testimony is raised higher through the praises that flow out of your mouth and the blessings that flow out of your life. God blesses us so that we will in turn bless others.
Verse eleven is such a wonderful picture of the favor of God. Imagine God crowning your year! Consider the possibility of all that you have overflowing with the abundance of God’s provision; not just enough, overflow! Has life been a desert? Has your past been touched with sorrow? The glory of God is to turn your desert into overflow and your sorrow into gladness. This is what brings Him praise! Many view God as a difficult and demanding master who cruelly withholds from His children unless either their perfection or their desperate pleadings somehow persuade Him to release a meager portion from His tightly clasped hand. But this passage reveals a different understanding of our loving God. James captured this revelation of a loving father in James 1:16-17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” The right image of God that He wants to plant deeply within the spirit of every one of His children is the image of a loving Father who gives “good and perfect” gifts to the children that He loves.
In Luke 12:32 Jesus confronts a wrong understanding of the Father’s heart by declaring "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” In this simple phrase Jesus exposes the common human tendency to live in a fear of what God won’t do rather than a faith for what God will do! God has filled his word with such clear statements of a Father’s loving provision because ever since the Garden of Eden Satan has been at work to disparage God’s reputation and to pervert mans understanding of God’s motivations in His dealings with us. God has clearly stated in repetitive fashion that He is a God of abundant goodness who delights in the praises that flow from the heart of one who has been richly blessed through their submission and obedience to the life that the Father has invited them to live before Him. Respond to God today, not with fear but with faith. Let Him shape your expectations for the day and for the year to be full of overflow. Speak to your deserts in the name of the Father who loves you and declare them blessed. Expect rivers of living water to bless and increase all that concerns you today! IN JESUS NAME!

Psalm 65:8 - June 30, 2009

Ps 65:8 "Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy." NIV

What happens in your heart when the Lord shakes the heavens and the earth? What happens inside your inner most being when you witness God’s awesome deeds? For those who are far away from Him the wonders of God awaken the knowledge that many things are not within the power of human control and with that knowledge comes the possibility of God. When a force with such power that it is beyond man’s capacity to restrain it is demonstrated it humbles man and reminds him that he is finite, that there may yet be a God that has the right to make demands of us. In these moments those who are far from God may rage but they are left with the knowledge that their own strength is limited and when the power of these wonders comes close enough to their lives that it touches their comfortable existence and shakes their security then for a few there comes that crisis moment that draws them to cry out and discover the reality of the living God. In all of this God remains constant, reaching out to man in mercy, seeking to restore all men and all things to a right place before Him.
God allows one man to perish in calamity to call to all men with a warning that their deeds will be accounted for in the end and that nothing escapes the notice of the living God and yet He does not take pleasure even in the death of the one that is swept away in the storm. Ezek 18:22-23 states clearly “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” God seeks to turn the heart not destroy the sinful!
The second half of verse eight reveals God’s true desire! He wants the earth to recognize His greatness and sing His praise. This verse brings to mind the words of Jesus as He spoke to the Pharisees when they reacted to the praises that the people were lifting up to Jesus in Luke 19:40 "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out ." This response is an emphatic statement that GOD WILL BE PRAISED!!! If man will not humble himself and give praise to his creator then God will raise up the creation itself to do the job! But the good news is that God gives us reason to praise Him. “Where morning dawns and evening fades” God awakens praise within the hearts of those who love Him. So many times I have been awakened to the sound of a new song, singing of the wonders of God, lifting up praise to God for all that He has done. God will awaken the heart to sing! Invite Him to place that praise in your heart today!

Delayed Devotionals

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Psalm 65:2-4 - June 29, 2009

Ps 65:2-4 "O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. 3 When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. 4 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple." NIV

A life of sin is overwhelming! The human heart was designed to live in a state of peace with God but the fall of man when he surrendered his will to sin in the Garden of Eden damaged man’s capacity to enjoy this life of peace and joy and left him with a wounded conscience. Two of the very first things that man did after his fall from a state of purity were first to feel the impact of shame upon his heart and secondly to yield to his damaged conscience and turn from God and hide as a response to that shame.
Imagine having a totally pure conscience, having never sinned and living in continual fellowship with God. This was Adam’s life experience until that fateful day when he participated in that forbidden desire. Instantly the very core of his being was altered and his confidence before God was damaged. I Jn. 3:22 tells us that when a man’s conscience does not condemn him he has confidence before God. Adam lost this confidence before God and became timid and ashamed in His presence. Proverbs 18 exhorts us that the righteous are as bold as a lion and He. 4:16 affirms the invitation of God that He holds out to a redeemed believer, exhorting us to “come boldly before the throne of grace. All of this is what Adam lost due to the power of sins damaging impact upon the state of the soul. This state of despair and separation is what the psalmist is referencing when he reflects upon his journey, “we were overwhelmed by our sins…” When sin is allowed to run its course in our lives it results in death and the journey that sin leads us on is one of progressively increasing despair. Unless we repent and turn to the Lord for deliverance the weight of our sins will eventually overwhelm all but the one who has totally hardened their heart against God.
God knows our frame and he is waiting for the sinful man to turn to him and it is His desire and delight to forgive those who turn to Him for restoration. But there is so much more than forgiveness awaiting the man who will search for God with a whole heart. David has an understanding that true happiness is found in the presence of the living God. After celebrating the joy of forgiveness David extols the even greater joy of intimacy; “Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house.” When God finds a man with the right heart He brings him near to live in His presence. What a glorious gift from the hand of the Living God that He would choose a man as one that He will bring near to Himself to live in the intimacy of His inner courts! The good news is that this way is open to all. The veil between God and man was torn and now the way into God’s intimate presence is available to any who will search for Him with a whole heart. Each person has been invited through the blood of Christ to come and be filled with the goodness of God‘s house. Let a vision of intimacy fill your heart today and reach to God for a place of continually abiding in His presence.

Psalm 63:6-8 - June 28, 2009

Ps 63:6-8 "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." NIV

God is waiting for you in the night seasons! There is something about the quiet hours that wait for the seeking heart between midnight and the dawn. Is your bed a place of reflection? In the night is your heart turned to consider the greatness and wonder of God? Don’t waste those precious hours when the world around you is still. Invite the Lord to call to you. Stir yourself like the lover in the Song of Solomon and rise up to meet with the Lord in the night seasons when the world is quiet. Remember the Lord; think upon His word, sing to Him. In the night watches let his presence overshadow your heart and let songs of praise arise! David has gained understanding of the gift that the night time is to the worshipping heart.
God is our help and He wants to hear our voice. I remember during a season when the Lord was awakening me in the night with a longing to just sing in my prayer language before Him a dream that came after spending an extended time in worship. I was sitting with the Lord at a table and He spoke to me about my song and simply said, “I love it when you do that!” This little glimpse into God’s enjoyment of my weak but sincere praise fueled a much deeper sense of hunger and a much greater vision of the pleasure that our praises bring the heart of the Lord! As we sing to Him His presence overshadows us like the Holy Spirit did with Mary and our spirits are impregnated with the life of the Holy Spirit within us. Revelation comes, wisdom comes, peace comes, healing comes!
David relates through this passage a powerful aspect of this encounter upon his heart. Like Jacob wrestling with the angel resolutely refusing to let go until he has the desired blessing David declares, “My soul clings to you…” This is the compulsion that begins to grip that heart that knows the reality of what is available to us in the mystical realms of God’s presence. When we truly understand what is imparted to us and the revelation that awaits us there our hearts are touched by this same determination to cling to God’s presence until we “receive the blessing” in the same way that Jacob did, in the same way that David did, and our very nature is changed by the encounter. Saints of God, servants of the Lord, cling to Him and don’t let go until you have been changed by the blessing of divine encounter. There is satisfaction in God awaiting those who will rise and come after Him in the midnight hour!