Ps 34:11-14 "Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." NIV
David now speaks from a Father’s heart. He speaks as if it were God speaking, calling the children to listen. How many fathers have tried to quiet the hearts of a son or daughter to get them to listen to some important principle or truth that could save them much trouble in life and help them be successful in their life’s journey? It is with that same spirit that David is calling out to God’s children! “I will teach you of the fear of the Lord.” This is the critical truth that David desires to pass on to the next generation of those who will follow. Of all the things that a father could impart, with this one passage David elevates the fear of the Lord to a position of great worth in the eyes and ears of his audience. David was a warrior, a musician, a friend of God, a leader, a king and therefore he would have much wisdom to impart in so many different spheres yet the thing that he is concerned about passing on is the knowledge of the fear of the Lord.
What follows is not a complicated message from David’s heart and yet it is both profound and life changing if embraced. Do you love life!? Do you desire to see many good days? There are a few priorities at the center of fulfilling these desires. Don’t speak evil and love the truth. Pr. 18:21 teaches us that “the tongue has the power of life and death.” When we truly understand the reality of this power a sense of accountability comes over every heart. How much human potential is destroyed by impatient, angry parents, teachers, pastors and leaders as they wound those who are looking to them for direction in life? David is calling us to fear God with our mouth. When we realize that we are either building people up or tearing them down, that we are either building God’s kingdom or destroying God’s reputation with how and what we speak a holy fear begins to creep over us.
James 3:2 states “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. “ We might ask how this can be true, but perfect speech is a reflection of a heart that is conscious of God when we speak. If we would only stop and obey the principle that James teaches where he tells us to be slow to speak we would quickly see the fruit of that self control reflected in our relationships and in God’s endorsement upon our lives.
David follows this call to restraint in our speech with a call to be proactive in the opposite direction. Simply put, David says, “Do good, seek peace and pursue it!” How practical our God is! The foundation of the fear of God is summed up in these simple truths. Get control of your mouth and in so doing, get control of your hearts, do good to others and seek peace aggressively! This is what it is to fear the Lord. As we walk in this simple foundation a blessed life is headed our way.
Friday
Psalm 34:8-10 - April 10, 2009
Ps 34:8-10 "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." NIV
Experience is an excellent teacher. This is the foundation of David’s challenge to his readers. “Taste and see!” Let experience prove to you the goodness of the Lord! God is not so weak, nor so small, nor so impotent that He will not pass the test of experience. Jesus walked the earth as an expression of the Father not only to die for the sins of mankind but to enable every person to have before them an accessible record of what God is really like; a living representation of the balance between God’s love and His justice, His mercy and His righteousness. Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:9 “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” His very life was God reaching out to mankind to correct wrong views of who the Father was. It was God reaching out to say, “Have a taste of my love, my power, my wisdom!” A tremendous example of the kind of experience that I am talking about is when Jesus calmed the storm with but a word and His disciples sat in awe, wonder and even holy fear as they said to each other in Mark 4:41 "Who is this?
Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
The primary revelation that David emphasizes in His “encounter God” challenge is an invitation to come and discover God’s goodness. What an awesome truth to place at the center of experiencing God. Taste of Him and you will see that He is good!!!!!! David extols the benefits of trying out God. Taste of Him and you will know His goodness, take refuge in Him and you will find true happiness, fear him and you will lack nothing, seek Him and you will lack no good thing! David is certain of God’s response to an open heart.
There are two kinds of tasting; the tasting of discovery and the tasting of pleasure. At first we open our hearts to the idea of experimental tasting of that which is new. A friend prods us along and says to us, “you have to try this!” They offer us something new and we are curious, maybe tentative depending on our preconceptions. Imagine David the master chef. He knows well the wonderful experience of taking in the Lord’s goodness and His eternal pleasures and like that master chef He is seeking to persuade others to “have a taste.” This psalm is a nudge from heaven, seeking to break down resistance to trying a new thing. “Come on, try it!” We have all experienced this kind of persuasion and here is the psalmist of Israel crying out to the generations in the same way saying, “I know that you are going to like it. Just give it a try!”
Indeed, one true encounter with God is all that it takes to be captured by the joy of the experience. It is then that we quickly move to the second kind of tasting. Beyond the tasting of experiment and discovery there is the tasting of pleasure. Once we have discovered just how good it is to experience the Lord we then begin to pursue Him out of pleasure. Who has not experienced trying that wonderful dessert or incredible main dish in a small portion only to realize its goodness and hold out their plate to the cook with an impish smile while saying sweetly, “Can I have some more, pleeeaaasssseee!” David is certain that if we will just taste and see, this will be how we experience God! We are called to the table of God’s presence today to savor His love and His goodness, to be transformed into gluttons for God! “I want more. I want more. I want more.” Taste of Him today until this becomes your heart’s cry!
Experience is an excellent teacher. This is the foundation of David’s challenge to his readers. “Taste and see!” Let experience prove to you the goodness of the Lord! God is not so weak, nor so small, nor so impotent that He will not pass the test of experience. Jesus walked the earth as an expression of the Father not only to die for the sins of mankind but to enable every person to have before them an accessible record of what God is really like; a living representation of the balance between God’s love and His justice, His mercy and His righteousness. Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:9 “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” His very life was God reaching out to mankind to correct wrong views of who the Father was. It was God reaching out to say, “Have a taste of my love, my power, my wisdom!” A tremendous example of the kind of experience that I am talking about is when Jesus calmed the storm with but a word and His disciples sat in awe, wonder and even holy fear as they said to each other in Mark 4:41 "Who is this?
Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
The primary revelation that David emphasizes in His “encounter God” challenge is an invitation to come and discover God’s goodness. What an awesome truth to place at the center of experiencing God. Taste of Him and you will see that He is good!!!!!! David extols the benefits of trying out God. Taste of Him and you will know His goodness, take refuge in Him and you will find true happiness, fear him and you will lack nothing, seek Him and you will lack no good thing! David is certain of God’s response to an open heart.
There are two kinds of tasting; the tasting of discovery and the tasting of pleasure. At first we open our hearts to the idea of experimental tasting of that which is new. A friend prods us along and says to us, “you have to try this!” They offer us something new and we are curious, maybe tentative depending on our preconceptions. Imagine David the master chef. He knows well the wonderful experience of taking in the Lord’s goodness and His eternal pleasures and like that master chef He is seeking to persuade others to “have a taste.” This psalm is a nudge from heaven, seeking to break down resistance to trying a new thing. “Come on, try it!” We have all experienced this kind of persuasion and here is the psalmist of Israel crying out to the generations in the same way saying, “I know that you are going to like it. Just give it a try!”
Indeed, one true encounter with God is all that it takes to be captured by the joy of the experience. It is then that we quickly move to the second kind of tasting. Beyond the tasting of experiment and discovery there is the tasting of pleasure. Once we have discovered just how good it is to experience the Lord we then begin to pursue Him out of pleasure. Who has not experienced trying that wonderful dessert or incredible main dish in a small portion only to realize its goodness and hold out their plate to the cook with an impish smile while saying sweetly, “Can I have some more, pleeeaaasssseee!” David is certain that if we will just taste and see, this will be how we experience God! We are called to the table of God’s presence today to savor His love and His goodness, to be transformed into gluttons for God! “I want more. I want more. I want more.” Taste of Him today until this becomes your heart’s cry!
Thursday
Psalm 34:4-7 - April 9, 2009
Ps 34:4-7 "I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." NIV
Freedom from fear; it is such a powerful position of the heart. So much of the root of fear is in its essence a heart that is not trusting God in that circumstance. Fear of lack, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of persecution, the list goes on and on and on. And yet there is a biblical promise that argues against each of these fears and declares to us that our God is greater than the thing that we fear. Phil 4:19 “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” KJV. Eph 1:6 “he hath made us accepted in the beloved,” KJV. Phil 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” NIV. Heb 13:5-6 “because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" NIV.
For every need there is provision for every fear there is a promise to provide comfort, hope and wisdom. Ps. 34 is a picture of David pressing in to this reality, “I sought the Lord… and he delivered me!” David knew where his source was and it was the presence of the living God. Too often we are distracted from our focus by the giants we face. Not so with David, he brought the Lord into the battle with him! Even as he ran to confront Goliath his testimony was of the great victory that God was about to win through his hands. David operated in a prophetic spirit declaring what he was about to do and what God was about to do. He paid no attention to what the giant was about to do from the standpoint of losing his focus on the God who was going into battle with him; I Sa. 17:45-50. He announced his enemy’s defeat as if it were already finished, and in the mind of God it was!
As David celebrates the victory of God he draws our attention to the one who has captured HIS attention. “Those who look to him are radiant;” such a powerful testimony of what God does in the heart of those who fix their minds on Him. In his hour of need David has chosen to press into his walk with God instead of becoming fixated on his circumstances. As a result David exchanges his fears for God’s radiance. What a day it will be when we never have to worry about our business again. What a moment when the burden of our daily fears is finally surrendered in a trusting relationship with the Living God. Such a place of freedom and peace is the reason that David can say that the fruit of those who look to the Lord for answers instead of to themselves are radiant.
Verse seven of this passage enlarges our view of David’s understanding. If we were to stop at verse six we might assume that the intervention that David is referencing is purely or primarily emotional or internal and yet David now turns his attention to the supernatural hand of God in his hour of need. Not only does David acknowledge an angelic deliverance, David goes on to convey that for all of those who fear the Lord God provides an abiding angelic presence to protect and provide. How much better it is for us if we begin to place every fear upon the Lord and reach into his everlasting love for strength and peace in the hour of need, knowing that his promises are sure and his presence is abiding! Today reach into God for a deeper revelation of a life that is free from fear.
Freedom from fear; it is such a powerful position of the heart. So much of the root of fear is in its essence a heart that is not trusting God in that circumstance. Fear of lack, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of persecution, the list goes on and on and on. And yet there is a biblical promise that argues against each of these fears and declares to us that our God is greater than the thing that we fear. Phil 4:19 “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” KJV. Eph 1:6 “he hath made us accepted in the beloved,” KJV. Phil 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” NIV. Heb 13:5-6 “because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" NIV.
For every need there is provision for every fear there is a promise to provide comfort, hope and wisdom. Ps. 34 is a picture of David pressing in to this reality, “I sought the Lord… and he delivered me!” David knew where his source was and it was the presence of the living God. Too often we are distracted from our focus by the giants we face. Not so with David, he brought the Lord into the battle with him! Even as he ran to confront Goliath his testimony was of the great victory that God was about to win through his hands. David operated in a prophetic spirit declaring what he was about to do and what God was about to do. He paid no attention to what the giant was about to do from the standpoint of losing his focus on the God who was going into battle with him; I Sa. 17:45-50. He announced his enemy’s defeat as if it were already finished, and in the mind of God it was!
As David celebrates the victory of God he draws our attention to the one who has captured HIS attention. “Those who look to him are radiant;” such a powerful testimony of what God does in the heart of those who fix their minds on Him. In his hour of need David has chosen to press into his walk with God instead of becoming fixated on his circumstances. As a result David exchanges his fears for God’s radiance. What a day it will be when we never have to worry about our business again. What a moment when the burden of our daily fears is finally surrendered in a trusting relationship with the Living God. Such a place of freedom and peace is the reason that David can say that the fruit of those who look to the Lord for answers instead of to themselves are radiant.
Verse seven of this passage enlarges our view of David’s understanding. If we were to stop at verse six we might assume that the intervention that David is referencing is purely or primarily emotional or internal and yet David now turns his attention to the supernatural hand of God in his hour of need. Not only does David acknowledge an angelic deliverance, David goes on to convey that for all of those who fear the Lord God provides an abiding angelic presence to protect and provide. How much better it is for us if we begin to place every fear upon the Lord and reach into his everlasting love for strength and peace in the hour of need, knowing that his promises are sure and his presence is abiding! Today reach into God for a deeper revelation of a life that is free from fear.
Wednesday
Psalm 34:1-3 - April 8, 2009
Ps 34:1-3 Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left. 1 "I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together." NIV
Imagine being forced to run for your life to a country where the people hate you. Imagine having been the known enemy of that people and now having your life placed in their hands without that people taking your life. What emotional pressure that must have placed David in. Now imagine with me determining that your only hope is to pretend to be insane, babbling and drooling and acting like a wild man so that you are not perceived as a threat and are driven off into the wilderness, all the while internally praying for God to deliver you from the hands of your enemies.
Many of the theologians like to argue about whether this act of deception was sin or not, and on this point I will remain silent. What I am drawn to is that David’s reflection as he remembers the deliverance of the Lord is a life of continual praise. David does not glory in his strategic actions that won for him his freedom. Instead he exalts the glory of the Lord. When we experience a great victory or moment of deliverance from what could have been disastrous circumstances do we sing our own praises or do we sing praise to the Lord who has delivered us?
David turns this psalm into an exhortation to all of those who have been afflicted. “My soul will boast in the Lord!” David humbly turns his attention to the power of the Lord which is his true source of deliverance. He doesn’t become captured by his own sense of greatness. Rather, he glories in the greatness of the Lord. In this moment David calls all of those who are afflicted to reflect on his testimony and to be encouraged. This is a powerful principle for gaining personal victory. The first step to overcoming personal obstacles begins in the inner man. If we are obsessed with our own need and the measure of our negative circumstances our thought life will be consumed. As a result we will be ineffective in hearing the Lord’s direction that would deliver us from our troubles. If our minds are overthrown, if our peace is gone, we do not hear the voice of the Lord very well.
There is great power in a focused mind. Revelation 12 tells us that one of the keys to overcoming Satan is the word of our testimony. The testimony of what God has done to win the victory in our lives and the lives of those we love becomes a great weapon and powerful tool for throwing off the weight of discouragement that would separate us from God’s intended deliverance. A negative thought life is not a life of faith. The faith that pleases God, the faith that receives heaven’s response is the faith that flows out of a positive confession and a life of praise.
As we turn to the Lord in the time of our trouble God will quickly turn his ear towards the sound of our praise and release a mighty deliverance that will set us free from the snares of the enemy and usher us in to the purposes of our great and awesome God.
Imagine being forced to run for your life to a country where the people hate you. Imagine having been the known enemy of that people and now having your life placed in their hands without that people taking your life. What emotional pressure that must have placed David in. Now imagine with me determining that your only hope is to pretend to be insane, babbling and drooling and acting like a wild man so that you are not perceived as a threat and are driven off into the wilderness, all the while internally praying for God to deliver you from the hands of your enemies.
Many of the theologians like to argue about whether this act of deception was sin or not, and on this point I will remain silent. What I am drawn to is that David’s reflection as he remembers the deliverance of the Lord is a life of continual praise. David does not glory in his strategic actions that won for him his freedom. Instead he exalts the glory of the Lord. When we experience a great victory or moment of deliverance from what could have been disastrous circumstances do we sing our own praises or do we sing praise to the Lord who has delivered us?
David turns this psalm into an exhortation to all of those who have been afflicted. “My soul will boast in the Lord!” David humbly turns his attention to the power of the Lord which is his true source of deliverance. He doesn’t become captured by his own sense of greatness. Rather, he glories in the greatness of the Lord. In this moment David calls all of those who are afflicted to reflect on his testimony and to be encouraged. This is a powerful principle for gaining personal victory. The first step to overcoming personal obstacles begins in the inner man. If we are obsessed with our own need and the measure of our negative circumstances our thought life will be consumed. As a result we will be ineffective in hearing the Lord’s direction that would deliver us from our troubles. If our minds are overthrown, if our peace is gone, we do not hear the voice of the Lord very well.
There is great power in a focused mind. Revelation 12 tells us that one of the keys to overcoming Satan is the word of our testimony. The testimony of what God has done to win the victory in our lives and the lives of those we love becomes a great weapon and powerful tool for throwing off the weight of discouragement that would separate us from God’s intended deliverance. A negative thought life is not a life of faith. The faith that pleases God, the faith that receives heaven’s response is the faith that flows out of a positive confession and a life of praise.
As we turn to the Lord in the time of our trouble God will quickly turn his ear towards the sound of our praise and release a mighty deliverance that will set us free from the snares of the enemy and usher us in to the purposes of our great and awesome God.
Tuesday
Psalm 33:16-19 - April 7, 2009
Ps. 33:16-19 "No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine." NIV
This portion of Psalm 33 can be summed up in a small portion of Zech 4:6 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.” No measure of human strength, no measure of military might, no amount of intellectual prowess can be depended on as the true source of victory in life. Throughout the pages of history human record bears witness to the consistent reality that at any given time the larger, better prepared, more fully armed force has no guarantee of victory. For every Goliath there is a David whose faith in God is greater than Goliath’s natural ability. For every Pharaoh with an army of trained soldiers and an arsenal of chariots and horses there is a Moses with the Word of the Lord and a wooden staff. For every Midianite army there is a humble man like Gideon who rises up in a faith response with 300 men and a plan from heaven.
This passage in its essence is a call to fear the Lord and to place our trust Him. The Lord is watching over those who fear Him and He is their true source of deliverance. As 2 Chron 20:15-16 says, “the battle is not yours, but God's.” When our ways are submitted to the Lord in a holy reverence God becomes our defense and our victory. Throughout the pages of scripture the Lord repeatedly led his people to victory through the power of divine revelation in the time of need. Again and again they triumphed over superior forces. Again and again they watched the Lord fight their battles for them, at times giving a supernatural strategy that enabled them to overcome their enemy in face to face confrontation at other times they simply stood and watched as the Lord fought for them.
For the prophet he blinded the army of the enemy. For the besieged nation he sent the enemy into a panic and in one day the Israelites went for desperation to celebration. For Joshua He caused the walls to fall down and for Jehoshaphat and his army of praisers the Lord set ambushes for the enemy. The power of God is the power of love! As the Lord finds those who love Him, those who will lift up a voice of praise, He becomes a shield and a deliverer from all harm. As Isaiah said in Isa 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper” KJV. God’s promise to us is that instead of the weapons of the enemy prospering against us, we will prosper against our enemies. He is our deliverer. He is our provider in time of need. And the one that he is looking to protect, the one that he is longing to provide for while others around him are in the midst of famine, is the one who trusts in God’s unfailing love. We must place our hope in the knowledge that God loves us and that this love compels Him to act on our behalf!
This portion of Psalm 33 can be summed up in a small portion of Zech 4:6 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.” No measure of human strength, no measure of military might, no amount of intellectual prowess can be depended on as the true source of victory in life. Throughout the pages of history human record bears witness to the consistent reality that at any given time the larger, better prepared, more fully armed force has no guarantee of victory. For every Goliath there is a David whose faith in God is greater than Goliath’s natural ability. For every Pharaoh with an army of trained soldiers and an arsenal of chariots and horses there is a Moses with the Word of the Lord and a wooden staff. For every Midianite army there is a humble man like Gideon who rises up in a faith response with 300 men and a plan from heaven.
This passage in its essence is a call to fear the Lord and to place our trust Him. The Lord is watching over those who fear Him and He is their true source of deliverance. As 2 Chron 20:15-16 says, “the battle is not yours, but God's.” When our ways are submitted to the Lord in a holy reverence God becomes our defense and our victory. Throughout the pages of scripture the Lord repeatedly led his people to victory through the power of divine revelation in the time of need. Again and again they triumphed over superior forces. Again and again they watched the Lord fight their battles for them, at times giving a supernatural strategy that enabled them to overcome their enemy in face to face confrontation at other times they simply stood and watched as the Lord fought for them.
For the prophet he blinded the army of the enemy. For the besieged nation he sent the enemy into a panic and in one day the Israelites went for desperation to celebration. For Joshua He caused the walls to fall down and for Jehoshaphat and his army of praisers the Lord set ambushes for the enemy. The power of God is the power of love! As the Lord finds those who love Him, those who will lift up a voice of praise, He becomes a shield and a deliverer from all harm. As Isaiah said in Isa 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper” KJV. God’s promise to us is that instead of the weapons of the enemy prospering against us, we will prosper against our enemies. He is our deliverer. He is our provider in time of need. And the one that he is looking to protect, the one that he is longing to provide for while others around him are in the midst of famine, is the one who trusts in God’s unfailing love. We must place our hope in the knowledge that God loves us and that this love compels Him to act on our behalf!
Monday
Psalm 33:12-15 - April 6, 2009
Ps 33:12-15 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. 13 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth — 15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do." NIV
The blessed nation is the nation that chooses to serve the Lord! In these times of shaking, as nation after nation is trembling under the consequences of poor economic strategies and overwhelming debt loads the call to return to the Lord resounds louder and louder over the span of the whole earth. Joel chapter two calls the people of the earth to return to the Lord with fasting and prayer, to repent of those practices and habits that contradict God’s ways. In His Word God promises blessing upon those who honor Him and obey His commands and He promises that days of judgment are in store for those who reject the Lord. It is important to realize that it is not with a primary purpose of destruction that these judgments come,
but rather with a desire to restore the earth to a place of surrender and obedience.
Hebrews 12 tells us that the Lord disciplines those He loves.
The Lord is watching over all of His creation with His eyes fixed upon the heart of man. As psalm 33:15 says the Lord considers everything that men do. What a powerful reminder to know that the Lord is watching and He is thinking about everything that we do. The Lord is conscious of each decision a nation makes and each choice a person makes. In his infinite wisdom and omniscience God knows that which is done in secret and that which is performed for all to see. The teaching of Christ confirms this as he teaches his disciples in Mt. 6:4 that all of the acts of devotion they do in secret will be seen by the Lord and rewarded openly. Let every man and every nation live in the light of this knowledge. The Lord is watching! I believe that if we were to embrace this reality as the underlying influence in all of our decisions that the nations would quickly be set in order and the heart of every man would be turned into the path of God’s blessing.
Today, live conscious of the audience that is watching every affair of your life!
The blessed nation is the nation that chooses to serve the Lord! In these times of shaking, as nation after nation is trembling under the consequences of poor economic strategies and overwhelming debt loads the call to return to the Lord resounds louder and louder over the span of the whole earth. Joel chapter two calls the people of the earth to return to the Lord with fasting and prayer, to repent of those practices and habits that contradict God’s ways. In His Word God promises blessing upon those who honor Him and obey His commands and He promises that days of judgment are in store for those who reject the Lord. It is important to realize that it is not with a primary purpose of destruction that these judgments come,
but rather with a desire to restore the earth to a place of surrender and obedience.
Hebrews 12 tells us that the Lord disciplines those He loves.
The Lord is watching over all of His creation with His eyes fixed upon the heart of man. As psalm 33:15 says the Lord considers everything that men do. What a powerful reminder to know that the Lord is watching and He is thinking about everything that we do. The Lord is conscious of each decision a nation makes and each choice a person makes. In his infinite wisdom and omniscience God knows that which is done in secret and that which is performed for all to see. The teaching of Christ confirms this as he teaches his disciples in Mt. 6:4 that all of the acts of devotion they do in secret will be seen by the Lord and rewarded openly. Let every man and every nation live in the light of this knowledge. The Lord is watching! I believe that if we were to embrace this reality as the underlying influence in all of our decisions that the nations would quickly be set in order and the heart of every man would be turned into the path of God’s blessing.
Today, live conscious of the audience that is watching every affair of your life!
Sunday
Psalm 33:10-11 - April 5, 2009
Ps 33:10-11 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." NIV
Who rules the nations of the earth? Is it earthly kings, presidents, dictators and prime ministers? The scriptures declare in Ps 2:1-4 “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. 3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.” Every nation has a choice to embrace the Lord and His ways or to stand in conspiracy against Him. It is the Lord who determines kings and queens and turns them as he chooses. Dan 2:21 says of the Lord, “He sets up kings and deposes them.”
Governments seek to control the hearts of men, dictating to them what is acceptable and what is forbidden. They oppose the word of the Lord, seeking to make acceptable what He calls forbidden and forbid those things that God endorses.
For a season of time in many cases it may even appear that man is victorious in his opposition to God and yet over the course of human history kingdoms come and go, the bones of rulers rot in their graves and yet the word of the Lord stands sure and his purposes remain from generation to generation.
Man in his finiteness is limited in his ability to think and act by the fact that his days on this earth are numbered and the length of his days are in the hands of the Lord. God is so above the realm of time and space, life and death that his plans span the generations of man. Isa 40:15 “Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales.” Imagine with me the military power of the United States, or perhaps the economic might of China or the European Union. In contrast to the grandeur of God each of these is but a drop in a bucket or dust on the floor and it is only the vanity of man that inspires him to consider that in some way he is equal to or greater than the living God.
In these times of shaking as economies tremble, governments topple, populations revolt, and nations collide in conflict the Lord, the Almighty God sits enthroned as ruler over all of the affairs of men. At the end of the age we will see him glorified and his kingdom reign and it will be manifest to all that Jesus Christ is Lord. As Paul wrote in Phil 2:10-11, “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.”
Who rules the nations of the earth? Is it earthly kings, presidents, dictators and prime ministers? The scriptures declare in Ps 2:1-4 “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. 3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.” Every nation has a choice to embrace the Lord and His ways or to stand in conspiracy against Him. It is the Lord who determines kings and queens and turns them as he chooses. Dan 2:21 says of the Lord, “He sets up kings and deposes them.”
Governments seek to control the hearts of men, dictating to them what is acceptable and what is forbidden. They oppose the word of the Lord, seeking to make acceptable what He calls forbidden and forbid those things that God endorses.
For a season of time in many cases it may even appear that man is victorious in his opposition to God and yet over the course of human history kingdoms come and go, the bones of rulers rot in their graves and yet the word of the Lord stands sure and his purposes remain from generation to generation.
Man in his finiteness is limited in his ability to think and act by the fact that his days on this earth are numbered and the length of his days are in the hands of the Lord. God is so above the realm of time and space, life and death that his plans span the generations of man. Isa 40:15 “Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales.” Imagine with me the military power of the United States, or perhaps the economic might of China or the European Union. In contrast to the grandeur of God each of these is but a drop in a bucket or dust on the floor and it is only the vanity of man that inspires him to consider that in some way he is equal to or greater than the living God.
In these times of shaking as economies tremble, governments topple, populations revolt, and nations collide in conflict the Lord, the Almighty God sits enthroned as ruler over all of the affairs of men. At the end of the age we will see him glorified and his kingdom reign and it will be manifest to all that Jesus Christ is Lord. As Paul wrote in Phil 2:10-11, “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.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)