Saturday

Ps 123:1-2 - November 28, 2009

Ps 123:1-2 I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. 2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.”

This Psalm is a picture of dependence. In its essence this passage demonstrates to the believer the measure of yieldedness and surrender that we are encouraged to embrace as our lifestyle before God. Many believers relate to God as an attachment to their already full lives. However, Psalm 123 points us towards a heart that looks to God alone as source and provider. It is a Psalm of confidence in God’s dominion and surrender to His absolute rule. The Psalmist points to the dependence of a slave as the position of their hearts before God. What is equally powerful is that this position of dependence is depicted as a voluntary choice. “I lift my eyes to you…” The language of this Psalm conveys itself more as an acknowledgement on their part of God’s right and power and their willing surrender rather than as a forced deference to the demands of God. They choose to look to God!

The Psalmist is speaking as one who has seen that in this life God is the best hope a person has a dependence upon Him is the wisest option available. Their confidence in God’s mercy is their hope for the future. Verse 2 portrays their commitment to look to God’s hand for their supply and the final phrase of verse 2 implies their patient resolve in faith in the power of prayer. “Our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us His mercy.” The Psalmist is declaring an absolute resolve to look to God until His mercy appears. This is the heart of conviction that moves God’s hand. Its presence in scripture stands as an example to us of a heart that will not be shaken from its dependence upon God no matter the circumstances. Let this same confidence shape your heart as you wait patiently on God for the fullness of his promises in your life.

Friday

Psalm 122:6-9 - November 27, 2009

Ps 122:6-9 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. 7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels." 8 For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you." 9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.” NIV

One of the great intercessory commissions of scripture is the call to pray for Jerusalem. Throughout scripture the Lord affirms again and again His love for and commitment to the city of Jerusalem. Though she has been subjected to long seasons of judgment and division there is a testimony throughout scripture that persists in affirming God’s plan for the city that He loves and where He has chosen to place His name. Isa 65:18-19 is one glimpse at the Lord’s heart and plan for this ancient city, “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people.” Through this passage we can see that God is not finished with her yet. He is still at work to make Jerusalem a delight and her people a joy in the earth!

Oh church of Jesus Christ, hear God’s calling to pray for Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. She is in the center of God’s eternal plans. Isa 62:6-7 enlarges upon this burden of prayer that God desires to place upon the heart of His people for Jerusalem. “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” There is an unending, call to sustained prayer for the city of Jerusalem until the purposes of God for her in the earth are completely fulfilled in His eternal plan. God is looking for a people who will allow a holy jealousy to fill their hearts for the city of Jerusalem and God’s purposes there.

Psalm 122:6-9 is rich in its burden for the city of Jerusalem and in the blessing that it declares upon those who will take up this burden. “May those who love you be secure…” This blessing is a reflection of the Lord’s love for those who will align themselves with His burden for Jerusalem. One of the evidences of a mature relationship is when you make room in your heart to love what the other person loves and this is what the Lord is calling us to. Make room in your heart to love the city that the Lord loves! Verse 9 carries in it such a picture of aligning our hearts with the burden of the Lord. The Psalmist declares “for the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.”Because he loves the house of the Lord he takes upon himself the burden of prayer for the city of God’s delight. What a great lesson for those who want to go deeper in God. One of the clearest paths to more of God is to love what He loves and accept a burden of prayer to pray for those things that are near to the Lord’s heart. Give yourself to the great work of partnering with God in prayer today!

Thursday

Ps 121:5-8 The LORD watches over you — the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. NIV

Have you ever felt alone? Have you ever thought to yourself “does God really see me!?” Psalm 121:5-8 is rich in the comfort that it brings to those who are feeling alone. It is a source of courage and confidence during dark times. And it is a source of boldness for those who are going forth into new seasons of faith and function!

The Psalmist is directing the hearts of his readers into a secure knowledge of God’s every watching eye of care. He conveys comfort with such directness that our hearts can find great peace as we place our faith in these affirmations of God’s abiding presence. “The Lord watches over you…” these words shine forth like a beacon anchoring the confidence of those who hear them. Are you living in the conscious knowledge that God is watching over you like a Father watches over His children as they play and learn. To know that He is at our right hand, watching carefully over our wellbeing deepens the sense of peace that is at work in a heart. Verse 7 declares with assurance “The Lord will keep you from harm – He will watch over your life...” protection and interactive awareness, the knowledge of this promise dispels fears that we are pursuing a distant God. He is there to protect and keep us close to His heart.

The knowledge that the Lord is and always will be watching over our comings and goings brings peace and stability to the one who will accept this promise by faith. Will you believe today? Will you choose to live as if the Lord is watching over you like a guardian? When we say yes to this promise we say yes to peace. When we embrace the things that the Lord says about Himself and His ways towards us we find a great comfort and rest that flows out of this place of faith. God gives us such promises for that very purpose. His desire is that we walk through this life without fear and with a great confidence in His steadfastness towards us. He says of Himself in Mal 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I change not;” KJV. These words of life tell us that there will never be a time when He is not alertly aware of our situations and needs. Live today in the confidence that God is with you and He is watching over you to guard your life and your future. Do not fear what the day may bring but live in a place of rest as you wait on God for the things that concern you.

Wednesday

Psalm 119:165 - November 25, 2009

Ps 119:165 "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them." KJV

Are you easily offended? What does it take before you lose your peace and become wounded by the way others treat you or by what they say about you? Can you imagine a state of peace that is allowed such complete dominion in your heart that nothing can offend you? This is hope presented by the words of Psalm 119:165. Great peace and an unoffendable heart await the person who has bound themselves to the word of God.

How do I reach this place of unshakable peace you may ask? Isaiah answers this question in Isa 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” NKJV There is a perfect peace awaiting the person who lives with their thoughts fixed on God and His word. This is a promise not just a distant possibility. Throughout the scriptures this theme is repeated, that a person can live with their heart anchored in a place of peace that protects them from being offended, distracted, wounded or embittered. This does not mean that this person will never feel the sting of betrayal or offense but that they peace of Christ will rise up within them and restore them quickly to a state or rest that allows no root to form inside their inner most being.

Jesus himself was mocked, abused, mistreated and lied about and yet he maintained a state of rest before God that allowed him to forgive his tormentors and consistently respond in an opposite spirit to the offenses coming against him. His instruction to his disciples that we should love our enemies, pray for our persecutors and turn the other cheek when people strike us confront our minds with a standard that seems impossible in the power of our human nature but that is the point entirely. We have been empowered in this life by the indwelling Holy Spirit and the instruction of the word of God to live beyond the strength of our own character and nature. Paul told his spiritual son Timothy in 2 Tim 1:6-7 “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” NKJV

We are a supernaturally empowered people who have been given a divine influence to govern our minds and the things that flow out of us. Paul tells Timothy to stir up this gift! Peace is a gift! Freedom from chronic offense is a supernaturally empowered gift! There is a perfect peace that comes from training our minds and spirits to live ever in the presence of Christ by faith. In another passage Paul told Timothy Col 3:15-16 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” NIV Good news people of God – the peace of Christ can rule inside of you!!! You do not have to be a victim of your wounded emotions any more. There is a peace that comes from knowing Christ and walking in His Spirit that can keep your life from being ruled by the treatment of others. When we live constantly before Christ the treatment of others loses its power over us. Fix your eyes on Him and let His word dwell in you richly and you will find a peace and rest like you have never known.

Tuesday

Psalm 119:147-149 - November 24, 2009

Psalm 119:147-149 "I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. 148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises." NIV

In our last devotional we ended with the compelling call to cry out to God for insight and revelation. Verses 147-148 of Psalm 119 demonstrate the walk of a man who has learned to cry out for this wisdom and insight! The Psalmist’s motivation to seek after God is the central point of verse 147. Verses 147-148 give us a picture of a man gripped with a passion but we must ask ourselves “what could be worthy of such pursuit?” His declaration “I have put my hope in your word…” clarifies the power behind the passionate pursuit that is described within these verses. Truly the Psalmist understands the riches that are waiting to be entrusted to the man or woman who will press into God’s presence for insight, wisdom and revelation. The Psalmist has made understanding of the Word of God the central point of his life and values system. Because of this he is living in hot pursuit of the work of heaven in his heart.

I rise before dawn and cry for help…” these words compel us to ask the question, “what are you doing before dawn???” zzzzzzzzz. Has a hunger for God so gripped you that you are compelled to rise up early and cry out for help? Oh that our lives would be gripped by such a burning desire and passion for God. Do we hunger for God more than we hunger for sleep? Is it routine or passion that is driving us to pray? “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night that I may meditate on your promises.” Lord let this be the desire of our hearts! The Psalmist’s longing is for insight into the promises of God and so he lives reaching into the presence of God in the night seasons and in the early morning hours seeking for the Spirit of God to open the word to him. God give us this holy desire. God move our hearts to this love for the word. Like the Psalmist, cry out for help from heaven. Cry out for a hunger to be birthed in you, for an unquenchable desire for the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to make you wise and reveal the mysteries of God to your inner man. Don’t be silent any longer. Cry out today for the help of God’s Spirit so that you may know Christ more deeply.

Monday

Psalm 119:130 - November 23, 2009

Ps 119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Have you ever read something over and over again only to shake your head and say “I don’t get it?” The word of God is rich in its depth and substance but so much of what God has to say is shrouded from view apart from the Spirit of God breathing on it. This passage in the psalms describes the phenomenon of revelation in a simple illustrative phrase: “The unfolding of your words gives light.” For hundreds of years the writings of Isaiah, David and many other prophetic voices contained mysteries that were read over and over again without the readers seeing through the words on the page to the depths of revelation that lay within them.

Listen to Paul’s description of the ways of God in regard to His word: Rom 16:25 - 27 “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him- 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” It was God’s pleasure to hide the truths of the gospel within the prophetic writings for LONG AGES PAST, and then reveal them at the appointed time to a generation that was prepared by God to receive the gospel.

Paul further describes the nature of God’s mysterious way in Eph 1:8-10 “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment. “ And also in Eph 3:2-6 where he writes “Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.”

God in His wisdom knows the perfect moment of understanding not only on a global scale but on a personal level. For the disciples on the road to Emmaus it took the touch of God upon their understanding to allow them to grasp the very things that Jesus had shared with them for the last three years. They had heard but not understood until that moment of revelation came. Jesus demonstrated the principle that the Psalmist is communicating to his audience in Psalm 119:130 as He brought them to the moment of unfolding and suddenly the realized what He had been saying to them for years.

It is only the Spirit of God who can convey true wisdom and revelation concerning the word of God. The Pharisees marveled at the insight and authority of the Apostles as they ministered in Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” KJV Time with Jesus is the key to understanding the word of God. Time with Jesus is the key to wisdom and revelation. Paul teaches the church of the treasures that are to be found in Christ in Col 2:2-3 “… and of Christ; 3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” KJV Light and truth are hidden in Christ, waiting to be found by those who will seek with a humble heart. If we cry out to Christ, the living word, for the unfolding of His word it is promised that we will grow in wisdom and become a people who are rich in understanding. Don’t wait. Cry out to Him today!

Sunday

November 22, 2009

Ps 119:98-100 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. NIV

The Word of God bears lasting fruit in the lives of those who will truly commit to its instruction. Blessed is the man who has discovered the power of living according to the Word! The Psalmist has captured so powerfully the impact of the commands of God upon the lives of those who are trained by them. It is not enough to simply read the Word of God. We must choose the Word as the wisdom by which we live and when we do great things begin to happen as we are shaped and molded by its counsels.

The Psalmist declares concerning the Word of God “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.” What a powerful, faith-filled statement of confidence. The Psalmist has learned that the presence of God’s commands within him is not a passive reality but a living experience. Heb 4:12 tells us that “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Our enemies are at a disadvantage because the counsels of God given to us through His commands are actually alive and active within us. When we are in the presence of our enemies the Word of God is actually active within us to minister God’s wisdom to us in our time of need. Jesus taught his disciples of the power of the living word in this way when he spoke in Matt 10:19-20 and said “when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

There is great power in hiding the Word of God in our hearts through prayer, reading and meditation upon the precepts of God. As we hide the Word within our lives we give the Holy Spirit more to work with in His ministry of releasing timely wisdom and direction into our lives. Jesus described the work of the Holy Spirit in us by saying in John 14:25-26 “the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” The ministry of the Holy Spirit works with the living Words of Jesus that are within us to remind us in our time of need of the applicable Words that are hidden within our spirit and mind through previous meditation and revelation. It is through this means that the Holy Spirit develops a wisdom and understanding in our lives that is greater than any human reasoning can ever generate.

We can see this wisdom at work in the life of Stephen in his final conflict with the religious leaders before they martyred him. Though Stephen was not a highly educated scholar the Spirit of God within him was greater than the wisdom of the learned men he was in confrontation with. Acts 6:9-10 tells this story. “Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)-Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” Today “let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you” and discover a greater measure of the wisdom of God directing you in all of the affairs of your life!