Search....Search....And Search Some More

Psalm 105:1-5 -  Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.  Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles.  Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice!  Search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching. Think of the wonderful works he has done, the miracles and the judgments he handed down,

 

David started out thanking God and proclaiming to anyone who was close enough to hear him that God was great. He told them to search for God…and keep on searching till they found him.  He told them to think about all the great things he had done to give them strength while they searched. Then he reminded them of the great history of their people…starting with the moment God made his great promise to Abraham…through the whole history of 1,000 generations of Israelites.

 

Their history is our history…it became our history the moment that Jesus offered salvation to all people with his great act of love on the cross.  I have no clue how many generations that is now…nor do I have a handle on the complete history of the miracles he has done for all the people of the world…but if it is anything close to the miracles that I have seen just in my small section of the world ….it would take volumes and volumes and more volumes to record it all on paper.

 

We need to be like that widow that searched her house for a lost coin in Luke 15.  She turned things upside down….and did not stop till she found it.  That chapter also records two other parables that Jesus used to tell us that we need to be willing to leave the familiar routines we have built for ourselves and go out and look for the lost.  If we do then we will experience the joy of that father…who watched his wayward son return home.  But we will only experience that joy if we keep searching for God…and never believe that we have found enough of him. That joy truly becomes complete as we begin to share our history of God with others. 

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I have not found all of you this morning.  Forgive me for ever thinking that I have enough of you in my life…and help me to begin a serious search for you once more. Don’t let me stop searching for you till I have found the joy that comes from serving you completely.  Give me opportunities to share what you have done in my life…so I can add to the great stories of what you did for the Israelites so long ago. Amen.

Created...Preserved....Governed

Psalm 104:1-5 -   Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.  He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.  He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.  He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.

 

It’s hard for my heart to believe that this beautiful summary of the creation of the world was left anonymous.  Each thing that God created in the first chapter of genesis is mentioned as the Psalm unfolds to the end. God is given the qualities of a loving father…who has supreme….unlimited power over the universe.  He created….preserves…. and governs his creation.

 

God spoke the words that formed every crevice of our earth…his directions so complete and intricate that scientists have a hard time explaining how it all works.  He completed his creation with the life of the tiniest protozoa…and then breathed life into the highest of his creations...man.  All things working together to support and sustain each of the other elements. 

 

Man sure has messed up his natural plan over the millions of years that humans measure we have been allowed to live here. But even the greed….selfishness…and pompus attitudes of man have not destroyed what God created.  He alone knows the date that he has set to return and set back in motion the perfect world he intended to care for us all along…till sin entered the picture.

 

I for one am so thankful that he chose to let me live in this day…this season of his earth…after God decided the only way to save man was to send his precious son to die for my sins. I have the great opportunity to know him in a personal way…to enjoy his mountains and his rivers…to speak to him every morning as I wake…to be reminded that he is in control…and earth will not be moved until he gives the order.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I am always being cared for.  You created me as unique  as the first man and woman…and want to have a personal relationship with me. You want to meet with me every day and walk among your gardens and talk. Thank you for providing for me…even though I mess up so many times like Adam and Eve.  Thank you for giving your son as a sacrifice for my sins. Amen.

Bless God With Your Inmost Being

Psalm 103:1-5 -  Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--  who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,  who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,  who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

 

David’ heart bubbled over with praise many times in his writings…his words of love and praise to God spilling out onto the paper.  They came from a heart that knew his human words could never give an adequate description of all that God had done…but that just made them that much more special.

 

This Psalm has always been one of my favorites…the words put to music by Andrae Crouch in the 70’s. The tune comes to my soul at different times of the day….in the morning …when I am particularly happy….or when God has blessed me with something I didn’t even know I needed. Sometimes…late at night…when I am praying….I let my own soul bubble over like David’s …and the words slip out in a quiet song of thanks to God.

 

I hope someday I can really mean all that I am singing…and truly praise him with my inmost being. For I know deep down my love for God can always get deeper. I believe with all of my heart that he loves me…and know that I would never have completed one hour on this earth if it were not for the great things he has done to save me...especially from myself.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I have so much to thank you for.  Help me to always deepen my love for you…and learn to bless you with my inmost being. Let the words I sing to you be real….and not just a melody that sounds good to my own ears.  Amen.

Don't be Troubled....Trust In God

Psalm 102:1-3 -  A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the LORD. LORD, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea!  Don't turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down your ear and answer me quickly when I call to you,  for my days disappear like smoke, and my bones burn like red-hot coals.  My heart is sick, withered like grass, and I have lost my appetite.

 

An anonymous man…in the middle of his life…most likely penned these words while in captivity in Babylon. He had reached the end of his rope…and was desperate for God to intervene and save his people.  His distress was mental….physical….social and spiritual….he had nowhere else to turn except to God.

 

Perhaps the Palmist’s strength to hold on till God rescued him came from hearing Isaiah 26:3 which says…..“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”  Or maybe he had heard the words David wrote in Psalm 18:2 that say…..“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”

 

He models for me what I should do when I am overcome with any burden…I need to lift up my eyes to God…and share with him my fears…my worries…my distress….so he can carry the heaviest of the load for me like Jesus told us in john 14:1.  It says….  "Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.”  As he was trying to help the disciples understand why he couldn’t stay on Earth with them any longer….and describe the rooms in Heaven he was preparing for each of us…he added these words in John 14:13-14 …. “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father.  Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!”

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to trust you with absolutely everything….from the smallest concern…to the largest burden.  Help me to trust you fully with things that bother me…and always turn to you in prayer to ask your help.  Show me how to live a life that is completely dependent on you for the strength I need to do what you put me here to do.  Amen.

Set Higher Goals...To LiveOnly For God

Psalm 101:1-3 -  A psalm of David. I will sing of your love and justice. I will praise you, LORD, with songs.  I will be careful to live a blameless life -- when will you come to my aid? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.  I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all crooked dealings; I will have nothing to do with them.

 

This is one of the many Psalms that David wrote. Perhaps written early in his reign as king….he spoke of the high ideals he had for his kingdom.  He knew he needed God’s help if he were to come anywhere close to modeling for his kingdom the kind of loving kindness and justice that God had given to him. 

 

He asked God to help him refrain from vile and vulgar things…and crooked dealings. I am pretty sure that includes the bad jokes and office humor I hear so often around me. I have two feet to walk away from them.  It also means we have to always guard against cheating the ones around us.  We can’t really do anything if we are the one getting cheated…except ask God to give us the ability to pray for them.

 

If we read a bit further…we can read the rest of the prayer  …requesting God’s help ….so he could refrain from selfishness….pride…..stay away from evil in general….and never to tolerate slander of any kind to the ones around him. It’s a great reminder to me…to be the same everywhere I go….and set higher goals for myself.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need your help to guard my heart against the things that keep me unfocused on you.  Help me to walk away from vulgar talk more often….speak up against slander…and set higher ideals for myself each day.  Show me how to quietly mediate more on the great scripture that helped you through your 40 days of temptations…that showed satan just who you wanted in control of your life. Amen.

Break Your Routine...Be Thankful...Really Thankful

Psalm100:1-5 -  Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.  Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations

 

That’s the whole psalm written by another anonymous writer.  He tells us to sing with a glad heart...and praise God for his love that endures forever. He tells us to enter into the building where we worship God…and give thanks for all he has one for us. His short but powerful message packs a two punch reminder for me.

 

I admit that I do not always keep a thankful heart.  I know that I spend way more time complaining and asking God why that just accepting and thanking him for all he has done.  I need to be a better sheep and follow God’s voice more closely…so I can understand his ways better.

 

I also admit that my worship of him becomes routine.  Get up on Sunday….ladies Bible class …choir …sermon…repeat that afternoon at 4.  I can’t remember the last time I walked into the sanctuary thanking God for allowing me to live in a country where I could worship him any time I wanted…especially with my friends and fellow Christians at church. Maybe I should add to the thanks I give him today…. a request to fill me with a presence of him that will chase off the routine worship I have become accustomed to …and draw me even closer to him .

 

Father…thank you for the reminder…to be more thankful.  Help me to spend more of my time thanking you for all you have done…and asking you to help me be a better sheep…that knows your voice…and follows you wherever you need me to go.  Help me to thank you as I enter my precious place of corporate worship this morning….and really stop to drink in your presence.  Let my worship of you today be something truly special…that will power me and give me strength to do my best through the week. Amen.

Spring Clean Your Heart

Psalm 99:1-3 -  The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.  Great is the LORD in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.  Let them praise your great and awesome name-- he is holy.

 

Another anonymous Psalm…the writer reflecting on the great holiness of God. His vision of God was sitting on the Ark of the Covenant…guarded by two cherubim...one on each side.  So holy and great was God that only a priest who had been anointed could enter the space where he lived. 

 

It reminds me that God is worthy of so much more than I usually give him. Even in the moments of deep worship…when I think I have given him my all…I know in my heart I could have given more.  I admit that my life is a series of wonderful moments with God….between the distractions that draw me away from his holiness. 

 

I need to stop more often…and think about the fact that God was so holy…that Moses had to remove his shoes before he could walk close to that burning bush that held God’s presence.  And since Jesus died on that cross to save my sins….and make my own body his temple…he lives inside of me. Makes me think that I need to do some spring cleaning in my life…to make my body a place God would be proud to live.

 

Here’s the great thing about God…once he lives inside me …he loves me just the way I am…and lets me work on the transformation in installments.  Bit by bit he helps me clean out the things that are not worthy of his holiness…and he comforts me and gives me confidence the whole time.

 

Father….I thank you for the love that is so great that it takes me where I am this morning…helps me gently reflect on who you truly are…and helps me realize once again that I have a lot of work to do before you will be truly proud of who I am.  As the calendar keeps moving ahead day by day…help me to utilize each moment you give me to commit to cleaning out more and more of the things that are not worthy of who you are.  Amen.