Psalm 127:1 - December 5, 2009

Ps 127:1 “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Are you doing what the Lord is doing? Psalm 127:1 calls us to examine the foundation of how we are spending our lives. Hard work alone isn’t enough to make a life fruitful and meaningful and even the greatest goals are a vain use of time unless we have aligned our life purpose with God’s life purpose. God is at work constantly and abundantly. There is no shortage of God’s desire seeking to bring forth the kingdom of God in the earth. But much energy and resource is directed towards human rationale rather than being divinely directed.

The life of Jesus is the model of productivity in the context of divine inspiration. The Apostle John wrote of the great measure of Jesus’ fruitfulness and good works in John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” He accomplished more in his three and a half years of ministry than most people accomplish in a lifetime. Sooo what was the secret of His productivity and the quality of His fruit. He tells us the nature of His ministry in John 5:19-20 "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” Jesus lived in the power of Psalm 127:1! He lived a life of revelation.

As we consider the importance of the Lord building the house, the Lord being the author and initiator of the work that we put our hands to there is a foundation of revelation and intimacy that makes all of this possible. Jesus was incredibly fruitful because He lived before the Father. In John 8:38 Jesus speaks of this intimate, presence driven ministry when He confronts the Pharisees, “I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence…” He saw and He spoke, He saw and he acted! Through this deep intimacy it was the Father performing His works through the life of Jesus.

In the same way the Apostle spoke of his personal life and ministry by saying in Gal 2:20-21 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul’s entire life flowed out of faith in the Son of God! It was no longer him living according to his own desires. Every decision flowed out of a yielded spirit. When we place ourselves in the hands of God and seek to live as an expression of His divine desires fruitfulness flourishes.

We want to appologize for the delay in posting the daily devotionals. Thank you for understanding!

Psalm 126:5-6 - Decemeber 2, 2009

Ps 126:5-6 “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him."

This passage in verses five and six of Psalm 126 is a continuation of the theme of restoration that is begun in earlier portions of Psalm 126. There is an image of desperation in this passage. Sorrowful sowing brings to mind an image of that person who is just hanging on by a thread. They are at the end of themselves and giving of their last strength with a mixture of hope and hopelessness! The widow that the prophet is sent to in the town of Zarephath in I Ki. 17 is just such a person, despairing to the point of hopelessness.
This widow woman is compelled by the prophet to supply him with a meal even though her expectation is to finish out her food and then die because of the famine in the land. She is called upon to sow one last time, to exercise one last act of faith and then to believe. She is called upon to sow in tears. Have you ever been to the place where your pain is burning in you so strongly and yet the Lord asks for one more thing? As if to say “just trust me this one last time,” God asks of you an investment of faith that you have to reach down deep inside for the strength to obey. This is sowing in tears!
God’s way is to call upon us when it seems like we cannot go on any further, compelling us to take one more step of faith. “Just one more, you can do it!” “Just one more prayer, sow one more seed, try one last time, reach higher, dig deeper, forgive, trust, believe;” God challenges our comfort zone and we grow! We grow stronger. We grow richer. Our faith is matured and seasoned by the request of God that calls us to more than we thought we could possibly endure. But it is not a vain exercise that the Lord is engaging us in. The Lord encourages His people Heb 6:12 to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” NIV This is the work of God in a life, to grow our faith and bring us into the inheritance that is waiting for us.
As Ps 30:5 says “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” NIV This is the promise of Psalm 126:5-6. Gal 6:8-9 exhorts us “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” NIV There is a promised harvest that awaits us even if we have walked through a valley of tears. There is a hope in God that is worth fighting for. Do not let your spirit grow faint during those times when all you can do is sow in faith. Eph 6:13-14 warns us of the battles to come by saying “… put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” NIV Do not despair in the long hard season but do all you know to do then stand in faith until you receive further direction from the Lord. His promise is that you will reap in joy!

Psalm 126:1-3 - December 1, 2009

Ps 126:1-3 "When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." 3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." NIV

There are times in the Lord when His mercy brings about restoration of lost dreams and lost hopes in such stunning and complete fashion that it is like living in a dream. Throughout the word of God there is testimony after testimony of the night seasons of God and the glorious morning that follows. Joseph in captivity awoke to complete vindication and promotion to the promised place of influence, David emerged from years of persecution and conflict to the throne of Israel, Peter returned from a time of complete failure and despair to the restoration of his calling to intimacy with the Lord and fruitfulness in ministry. Psalm 126:1-3 is a reflection of one such time.

The people of Israel spent many years in Babylonian captivity. Their hearts were in mourning as they were carried away from the land they loved. Their season of mourning is recorded in Ps 137:1-3 as the Psalmist grieves over the loss of their heritage in God: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" NIV They endured a season of mocking and bondage that wounded and humbled them greatly. But this was not the end of the story for God’s chosen people. The story does not conclude with mourning but with laughter!

Verse one of Psalm 126 describes the end of God’s dealings! “When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.” They went out with grief into a time of captivity but once again their mouths are filled with laughter as the Lord turns their sorrows into songs of joy and bursts of laughter! Though God allows seasons of trial and seeming emptiness we must always guard our hearts from believing that this is the end of the story. With God there is always a resurrection. As Rom 8:28-29 says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” NIV Even when it seems that there is no hope; with God there is always hope.

Even when we cannot see a way or a purpose; with God there is always a way and He is always fulfilling a righteous purpose even through the attacks of the enemy! Joseph was treated with great injustice and cruelty by his brothers and yet he was able to see beyond the pain of this betrayal to a higher work that was taking place. In Ge. 45 Joseph reinterprets his painful life experiences through the lens of God’s purpose and is able to even comfort the very brothers that betrayed and wounded him with the knowledge that God had used their ill treatment to bring about good! Expect from God’s hand the same ability to bring about restoration in your life as he was able to work in Joseph’s circumstances and do not harden your heart with thoughts of judgment and bitterness! God is bigger than any mistreatment or disappointment you will ever face!

Psalm 125:1-2 - November 30, 2009

Ps 125:1-2 "Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore." NIV

Psalm 125 celebrates the power of trusting in the Lord. The Psalmist creates a powerful comparison as he exalts Mount Zion and its unshakable endurance as the image of those who trust in the Lord. When a heart trusts the Lord something deeply settling takes place inside. As a parent I have experienced many times when my sons would leap off of something high (high to a five year old!) as I waited to catch them or jump into waters that are over their heads to my waiting arms. Their little minds are challenged by the voice of fear that whispers to them of the danger awaiting them but that limiting fear is overcome by their confidence in my strength and ability to protect them and to catch them. They are comforted by their knowledge of my love for them and their assurance that I will not violate their trust and let them fall. They are empowered by their trust of their father!

This is God’s intention for His children. It is our heavenly Father’s desire that we learn to trust confidently in His strength and His character as a child trusts his father. Psalm 125 points us to the fruit of this kind of trust. When we trust we ourselves become strong! Our confidence is not in ourselves but in the one whom we trust. Verse one exhorts us that those who trust in the Lord cannot be shaken!!! What a powerful promise. When our hearts are emboldened by a confidence in God’s character and strength we are empowered to do great things and to withstand difficult times.

Verse two continues this exhortation to trust by illustrating the nature of the Lord’s protection. Jerusalem is a city surrounded by seven mountains. It is built in such a location that it has natural defenses that are not man made on all sides of it. This is the image of the powerful refuge that God is to His people. We are not trusting in a human strength. We are not leaning on a shakable foundation. We are trusting in the God of all creation! We are protected by the Lord of all things, the one who demonstrated authority over heaven and earth. During His life on earth Jesus walked on water, calmed the raging storms, multiplied the bread, restored people body, soul and spirit and demonstrated His ability to not only walk in this glory Himself but the ability to empower others to demonstrate this same power and authority. It is impressive do perform a miracle, but how much more inspiring is it when you can empower your servants to perform those same miracles? All of these works have lifted up the same message from the heart of heaven. “You can trust in the Lord!” Do not look to your ability to understand all that is going on around you. Lean confidently on Him. Rest in His love and trust in His faithfulness! God is at work to be all that you need! NOW!

Ps 124:8 - November 29, 2009

Ps 124:8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

There is one extremely powerful truth contained in this passage from Psalm 128: there is great power in the name of the Lord! The Lord has given us His name and in doing so He has given us great power in the spiritual world to affect the realms of both heaven and earth. Throughout the pages of scripture we are taught the reality that the works of God are performed in the NAME OF THE LORD. The apostle Paul taught the Colossian church in Col 3:17 “…whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Every action that we take is a reflection of the name of the God that we serve. Like the priests in the Old Testament we are the carries of God’s name and represent His power, wisdom and nature when we speak and act. Deu. 21:15 tells us that the priests were chosen by the Lord to “minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD.” Our purpose is to serve people and to distribute blessing to people IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. We are the means through which God has chosen to pour out blessing. You might be asking yourself, “What blessing do I have to pour out on anyone?” In and of yourself you possess nothing! The power is in the name! Paul spoke to the church of Philippi in Phil 2:9-11 and said of Jesus “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” NIV When we speak as God’s representatives using His Name, His authority, not our own we have all of the power of heaven and earth behind our words. When we bless in that name blessing will flow because we are priests of the most High God!

Long before he was king of Israel David understood this principle. Even as a boy he did not fight his battles in his own strength but as a reflection of the God that he served. When he fought the giant Goliath in 1 Sam 17:45-46, even though all natural reasoning would insist that there was no way that David could win in this conflict David conquers his enemy because He understands where the battle is truly being fought. David pronounces judgment upon the giant and the battle is over in the spirit realm before David has even thrown a single stone. “David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” NIV David would have never gone charging boldly into battle against the giant in his own strength. It was only because he understood the power of the Name of the Lord that he had boldness to fight. Make it your goal today to live as a servant of the Name that is above every other name!