Stop Judging...And pray For World Peace

Psalm 72:1-3 -  Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.   He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.    The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.  

 

Solomon is said to have written this Psalm.  He wanted to leave a legacy of God’s great mercy and peace to his sons …and anyone else that would rule after him.  He wanted everyone to think that justice should be fair…and modeled after God’s way.  He wanted everyone to enjoy the peace that flourished during his reign as king.

 

It’s a great reminder to me to be more careful not to judge….and to always encourage others to live in peace.  God is really the only one who can see the heart of all…and judge fairly.  And Jesus told us in Matthew 5:9 … “ Blessed are the peacemakers:  for they shall be called the children of God.”

 

Even though I try really hard not to judge… I have those moments …just after I have said or done something judgmental…that God has brought it to my attention quickly. I guess I should thank him for not letting the moment pass that he has reminded me that it was wrong…so I can keep working toward being less hypercritical.

 

And the world sure could use more peace.  At least 10 times a day I witness someone being argumentative or mean to someone in their pathway.  And again…even though I try really hard to be nice and flexible…I am sure I have failed miserably at this too.

 

Bottom line is…I need to work harder to be peaceful with all people…and never judge….no matter what.  That is God’s job…and his alone.  I do not have the bigger picture God has put in place for those around me…and what lessons he may be teaching them by allowing them to be different from what I think is the norm.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder to be more careful how I treat the people you have placed around me. Help me to work toward true peace in the spot that you have placed me…and pray more diligently for the areas where I know people are struggling with wars and revolutions of all kinds.  Help me to see all people the same…no matter how they look on the outside.  Help me to take some time to get to know them on the inside…and love them the way Jesus loved me.  Amen.

 

 

Stretch Who You Are In God

Psalm 71:14-17 -  But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.  My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.  I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.  Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

 

The writer of this psalm had a great outlook on getting older.  No matter what…he was going to praise God.  He was even going to try to praise him more than he did the day before. He was so thankful for God’s consistent presence in his life …from his youth …to the point he found himself the day he wrote the psalm.

 

It is a reminder to me of how lucky I was to know who God was from day one.  My family was active in a church the day I was born…and my wonderful parents modeled for me every day just what living for Jesus meant.  As a teen I accepted Christ…and began the long journey that continues today. 

 

It is also a reminder to me that I am not to be the same Christian I was at 14. I am to ask God to sustain and even stretch my understanding of who he is…everyday…so that I can experience what the psalmist was talking about…and praise him more and more each day I know him.

 

Stretching who I am in God…means not being satisfied with the routines of the present.  I need to increase the time I spend in Bible study…prayer…and search for even more ways to tell others about the wonderful things he has done for me throughout my life.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I am never to become complacent in my love for you.  I can always do more that the day before.  Help me to find even more time to study your great Bible…and increase my prayers to you.  Show me more ways to share the great love you have given to me with others around me. Amen.

Thank God In Advance

Psalm 70: 4-5 -  But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted!" Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

 

Even in David’s most panicked times…he stopped and went to God in prayer.  The urgency of his need even seemed to intensify his reliance on the only one he knew could save him. He called out to God to help him….and begged him not to delay.

 

David also included in his prayer a statement of praise…thanking God in advance for what he knew God was going to do.  He wanted God to help him always be joyful…no matter what answer came to his prayer. He wanted to always say that God deserved to be exalted as the creator and sustainer of all his needs. He wanted everyone who trusted in God to always say…Let God be exalted.

 

I will admit...that I spend way more time asking God to help me…than I do thanking him and telling him how much I love him. If I follow David’s model here…and thank God in advance for his answers…then I can at least get my average 50/50…instead of the 10/90 it probably is now.

 

It is a great reminder to me…to always thank God in advance in my prayers.  I need to have the faith of David…to accept all his answers…yes…no...or wait… still rejoicing and praising  him for his continued love and mercy toward me. Deep in my heart I know that the times I have been the most joyful was when I was thanking God for something he did for me. It must have been the power that God gave me when I worshiped and praised him…that  carried me through whatever he had ask me to do.

 

Father….thank you for the reminder that I do not praise you enough for all that you do for me.  Help me to start all my prayers...thanking  you for something you have done for me….or just telling you how much I love you.  Thank you in advance for helping me to use the power of your great love to be more joyful and content.  Amen.

What Would Jesus Do?

Psalm 69:5-6 -  You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.  May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel.

 

David was spent….he had nothing left but his dignity and honor. He had given all of himself in tears and was emotionally….physically…and mentally broken.  His emptiness caused him to reflect on his own guilt and shame…and he asked God to protect those around him…and keep them from making the same poor decisions he had made.

 

It’s one of our huge responsibilities…once we become a Christian.  We are called to be models of God’s love to others.  We are even told in Mark 9:42 to be very careful that no one stumbles because of decisions we make.  It says… "If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.”

 

Makes me even more thankful for God’s forgiveness and mercy…for I know in my own life I must have modeled a million times the wrong way to do things. I would definitely be a the bottom of the deepest sea right now if it were not for the love Jesus modeled for me….even to the point of dying for my sins on that cross. It makes me want to be more careful…and pray David’s prayer more often.

 

A few years back a cute acronym surfaced that comes to my mind this morning.  Kids started wearing bracelets with WWJD stamped on them.  It stood for …What would Jesus do? Like many fads of our earthly lives…I don’t see them anymore.  Maybe it’s time for a resurgence of this great reminder…it sure wouldn’t hurt if we thought that each time we had to make a decision.

 

Father….thank you for the reminder that because I say that I love you…I have to model your ways to others all the time. Help me hold myself accountable for the way I act in front of others…and always model for them the way you would have done it.  Stamp WWJD across my heart as a permanent reminder to always ask you what to do in every situation. Amen.

Let God Carry You

Psalm 68:19-22 – Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. "Selah"  Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.  Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.  The Lord says, "I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea,

 

David’s great psalm begins much like Moses began his praise speech in Numbers 10…when they began the great procession behind the Ark of God. His heart was so full of praise and  love for God…his words could not contain the depth of his awe. 

 

David wrote a great truth in this psalm… God bears every burden we have with us….walking with us so he can help us if we need him.  Just as one man was picked to help bear the heavy weight of the cross for Jesus….he sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for us…bearing our burdens for us.

 

I am reminded of that great poem…Footprints In The sand.  God walks with us every day…but sometimes there is only one set of footprints.  It is those time times that God picks us up like that man picked up Jesus’ cross…and he carries us completely …till he can give us what we need to walk on our own again.

 

He sure has carried me through some tough storms…and even though I did not deserve to be carried…he did it anyway. I am but a toddler now…walking on my own a little….but reaching out to take his hand quickly when I feel my confidence waiver. I think I will stay a toddler forever…I like the thought of God always being there if I need him.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you have always been by my side…through everything you have allowed in my life…good or bad. I thank you for carrying me…whenever I needed it.  Build in me a confidence to know when to let go of your hand and walk on my own….and when to quickly grab hold again. Don’t let me get too far away from you…or run ahead without you.  Put a hedge of protection around me….so I can always be inside your great circle of love and grace.  Amen.

Go Tell The World About God

Psalm 67:1-3 -  May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, "Selah"  that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.  May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.

 

How amazing …this Psalm calls for worldwide knowledge of God. This Psalm…written in a time when one group of people believed they alone had been chosen to be God’s people….clearly says that this writer wanted ..ALL…the people to know how glorious and merciful and gracious God is to his people. It also says clearly that he wished salvation could be for everyone.

 

Maybe he didn’t understand that someday God would send his son to die on a cross and make his wish a reality….but his heart had been given a glimpse of God’s great plan.  I would say that it is amazing that God let this psalm somehow make it into the many Psalms that were cannoned…but the older I get…and the more I study the Bible…the more I can see that some things are accidentally amazing…just God’s great plan being unfolded from the beginning of time.

 

God gave is another piece of this great plan…just before he left earth to go be with his father in heaven. That piece too was carefully recorded for us to read in Matthew 28:18-20.  It says… “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 

Jesus gave each of his disciples his authority to make disciples…and baptize them…and teach them….just like he did when he began his ministry with the 12. And as each one of us accepts God into our life…and believes in the son’s gift of salvation…we too become disciples with the same authority. We need to take the time to spread the great things God has done for us…and praise him for his mercy and grace to us…so we can share the psalmist’s wish that ALL the people somehow have a chance to be saved.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you have given me a great job to do.  Help me see the needs in my own backyard…where you have placed me for some reason.  I will be honest with you God…I don’t really know what to pray for…so I can truly become your hands and feet…wherever you send me.  Help me to feel your promptings like Jesus did…and feel the need of each person that comes near me.  Give me words….clear words that will share with them your great plan of salvation for the world. Amen.

Refine Me...And Give Me Strength To Keep My Promises

Psalm 66:10-14 - For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.  You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.  You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.  I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you--  vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.

 

This anonymous Psalm has a great lesson for us today….well really there are two. One is a reminder than God allows things in our lives to teach and refine us into better people.  The other is that when we make a promise to him…we need to keep it.

 

As funny as it sounds…I would not trade one bad experience I have had for what I thought I wanted at the time.  All those times that God allowed my circumstances to put me in a rough spot…have actually made me who I am today. The more he allows me to experience in life…the more I can grow closer to him…the stronger he can make me…the more he can use me to help others.When God puts me through the refining process…all the things that prevent me from being who he needs me to be will be removed.

 

I totally understand the promises lesson too. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who ever asked God for something…and made a vow or promise if he would help us with our request. Those promises we made…we need to keep…like the author of this Psalm….even if God has not answered our plea yet.

 

Numbers 30:2 says… “If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” Or if you are not a strict rules follower…look at it like this. Why should God keep his promise to us…if we break our promise to him?

 

Thank you father for two reminders today.  Thank you for each and every trial you have put in my pathway. Help me to quickly learn the lessons you need me to learn. Remove from my life everything that holds me back from being the brave courageous servant that you need me to me. And God…you know what promises I have made to you…help me to keep them until your timing is complete and you are ready to answer my request. Amen.