Psalm 25
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
How does God lead and teach? Why is David talking about this happening all day long? I remember a song…
“Woke up this morning with my mind set on Jesus…All day long gonna’ keep my mind set on…”
God…always…on…my…mind
Try this today: Set a watch to beep on the hour and pray at that moment.
Psalm 24 1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. We are the managers of God’s investment portfolio. This means that God gives us life and all that we need to live. That is his investment. In return, we take his trust in us, and we give him our lives completely. That’s a fair return for his investment. What would life look like if you were totally sold out to God?
Psalm 23
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
This is the most well known Psalm, of course. So, we can easily overlook what it is actually saying. When we follow God, he places us in situations where he brings honor to his name. We don’t worry about what God has in mind because he is guiding.
Are you on right paths? Are people connecting to God because of what you are doing?
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
These words are shouted by Jesus from the cross just before his death. This is the moment of separation between God the Father and God the Son. In fact, this is the only time in the Bible Jesus calls God anything but “Father.” Dying with our sins upon himself, he becomes unholy before God. Fortunate for us.
What do we owe Jesus? How can we say, “THANKS!!” for what he has done?
Psalm 21 13 Rise up, O Lord, in all your power.
With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts. I like to eat “Now and Later” taffy. I had all my old amalgam fillings replaced in my teeth with composite resin (even an inlay or two, I don’t know) a couple of years ago by an awesome dentist and friend Terry, so I am counting on him not reading this. I am afraid I could suck the filling right out, but I am afraid to case the occasional Now and Later or Bit ‘o Honey become a thing of the past. This passage reminded me of “Now and Later.” The celebration is when God makes the world right. When he brings justice. If people are boldly working against God and his ways, he will do exactly what is fair, now and later. Have you been deeply wronged by someone no longer living? Have you given the hurt and anger over to God? Do.
PS 20:4 May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
There’s that “success” word again. I thought the Bible doesn’t talk about success. Of course it does. As long as God gets to define what success means, he is cool about it. In fact, if your heart’s desires connect with God’s desires, why would he want you to fail? Do you want to succeed in life? Follow Jesus.
If you had only 30 days to live, what would you do differently than you are doing right now?
PS 18:8 Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
God is not a dragon or a computer game monster, but there are sure times when he can appear that way. God is dangerous. Or as is said of Aslan, “‘Course he isn’t safe; but he’s good.”
When you think you have domesticated God, think again, and he will give you the ride of your life. But you have to be open for it. He waits…
What is God wanting to do through you?
PS 19:3-4 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. Here, David is talking about the stars and planets of the galaxies. They don’t make a sound but they have a language. The laws of physics are not painted or sculpted; they are written in numbers. Yet, when you think deeply, creativity and artistry are embedded deeply in those numbers. Explain the elegance and repeatability of the laws of physics by arbitrary random chance. Didn’t think so.
I am excited that Shane and Sarah are near completing the master disc of the “How to Be a Genuine Christian Without Being a Jerk” DVD project. They have been doing such an excellent job.
Pray for them and others who will be taking the disc from there to completion, ready for distribution. Pray specifically for God’s favor of joy and encouragement for all involved.
Gracias-
Dana
PS 17:8 Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
God is a non-physical reality. He becomes embodied in Jesus. Whenever I see passages like this in the Old Testament or New I have the image of Jesus in mind.
With the metaphor of the protective eagle added, all of a sudden you have this birdman showing up. So, eagle it is. Be as attentive as an eagle with eyes piercing the sky, and cover me with your huge winds to fend off anything that would even think of attacking.
Watch an eagle in flight (vacation or internet, your choice) and see the connection.
