Psalm 11:4-5
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous…
Why is God watching those who are living in his ways? The righteous? The end of Psalm 11 gives the answer:
For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.
When you follow God’s ways, he’s with you. You will know this.
There are three paths a young Jewish man can take to become a religious professional in the first century. As far as we can tell, neither Jesus nor the 12 disciples took any of these routes.
Jesus and the 12 are laypeople.
Why does this matter?
We all get to play…
Mark 3:13-19
8:6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet…
How much God loves humanity that he trusts us care for all he owns, his creation, giving us the opportunity to develop into creatures of the highest value.
God is the owner of everything and he trusts us to be stewards of what he owns. What does this say about our responsibility?
7:6 Arise, O Lord, in anger!
Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
King David is a man “after God’s own heart.” (Acts 13:22)
They are on friendship terms. This is why it doesn’t seem irreverent to say, “Wake up!”
Who hasn’t woken up a good friend? In this case, of course, God isn’t sleeping. He’s just not working on David’s schedule.
Good friends are patient, too…
When you are frustrated with a friend, what is the best approach to let the know?
Psalm 6:6 I am worn out from sobbing.
All night I flood my bed with weeping,
drenching it with my tears.
Brains produce new cells during sleep. We get high levels of cortisol which kills those new cells if we don’t get enough sleep.
Jesus is better than any sleeping pill.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.
Is Jesus enough for you?
sunrise@sea of galilee
5:3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.
When Martin Luther woke in the morning, he would speak the Lords Prayer and the Apostles Creed and think on them.
When Dallas Willard woke up in the morning, he would meditate on one of the petitions of the Lords Prayer and talk with God about what they were going to be about on that day.
Starting our days with heart and mind on God’s word and checking in with our partner of the day’s activities is not something new or profound.
If you love someone you say, “Good morning…”
When you get up in the morning let your first thoughts be lifted to God. Try it for a week and see how your day goes.
4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen
What was I thinking as a young child as I was saying that nighttime prayer?
“Good night mom, if I don’t croak I’ll be seeing you tomorrow morning.”
Not surprisingly, newer versions of this prayer leave out the dying part. For instance,
…Angels watch me through the night and wake me in the morning light. Amen
Indeed, angels do watch over us and I know God does have me wrapped in his loving arms, so I am ready for anything. Even a good nights sleep.
If you are having trouble sleeping, try thanking God for filling you with peace and expect it to happen.
3:6 I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.
Either this guy is naïve, Jett Li or River Tam, or he knows something we all do well to learn.
‘When God is for me, who is against me?’
Where do you need courage in your life today?
