A TIME TO SPEAK

A NEW SONG
Read Psalm 40

     I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly. Psalm 40:10

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     King David fell into grievous sin with Bathsheba. (2 Samuel 11–12) He repented, and God forgave him, but with a long road of consequences ahead of him. Referring to his great sin he said, “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” (40:2)
David recognized God’s gracious mercy and plan for his life when he said, “The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” (40:5b) God had given him a new song and for the rest of his life he would sing it to all who would listen.

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     Dear Lord, I want tell others about Your love and mercy in my life. Forgive me for getting so busy that I sometimes go an entire day without mentioning your name. As David said, “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!” (Psalm 40:16 NKJV)

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     He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:3 NIV

A BLESSED FUTURE

TRUST IN THE LORD

Read Psalm 37

     For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, Psalm 37:28a NIV

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     As David grew old, he looked around and saw wicked men growing stronger and more violent–lying “in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives.” (37:32) Yet David writes confidently, “If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” (37:23–24)

     David looks to the past and says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken.”(37:25) He looks to the future and reminds us that “The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever…their children will be blessed.”(37:18, 26b)

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     Dear Heavenly Father, I lean on Your faithful, everlasting love for us. You have promised that those who love You can look forward to a blessed future, saying, “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5 NKJV) I claim this promise for my family and for all of us who have received Your righteousness through the cross.

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     Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.    Psalm 37:3-4 NIV

THE PLANS OF THE LORD STAND FIRM

THE BLESSED NATION

Read Psalms 33–34
     The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. Psalm 33:10-12a

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     These Psalms of David reflect his joyful, trusting heart in the midst of extreme trial – running from King Saul who hated him, and escaping a pagan king who could have killed him. But in the midst of it, David sang joyfully of God’s faithfulness to the nations and individuals who honor Him. He said, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8)

     Those of us who listen to the news each evening can’t help but be dismayed by the attempts to undermine our Christian heritage. America’s founding documents still proclaim God as Lord, but that godly foundation is being chipped away with alarming speed.

     Our hope is not in the ability of men to come to our rescue. God is, after all, in charge of history. We need not fear the plans of our enemies, because God has the ability to foil their plans, if He so chooses. Our prayers should be for our leaders to turn back to the God of their fathers.

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     Lord, help us to faithfully live the truth and teach it to our children. Help us to remind them of the godly heritage handed down from our nation’s fathers, and to give testimony of the faithfulness of God in our own lives.

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     Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.   Psalm 34:11

ONE THING I ASK

THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

Read Psalm 27–28      One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. Psalms 27:4

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      King David had a heart for God’s house, which in his day was the Tabernacle. He wanted to build a temple for the Lord, but God would not let him do it in his generation. David’s son, Solomon would be the one to carry out his plans, with materials his father had gathered together.   (1 Kings 8:19)

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      Today, the Lord’s house is the Church, the Body of Christ, made up of believers who are themselves, the Temple His Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 3:16–17) The places where the Church meets, places of fellowship and worship, can be anywhere–in a home, a school or an elaborate building. The author of Hebrews warns, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)

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      Lord, thank You for the privilege of meeting freely with other believers. May our love for Your Church be so genuine and obvious that our children and grandchildren, like David, will desire to dwell in Your house all the days of their lives.

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      At his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Psalm 27: 6b

MY HOPE IS IN YOU

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

Read Psalms 23–25; John 10:11–18

     The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Psalm 23:1–3 NKJV

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     King David, a former sheep herder, knew all about tending flocks of sheep. Without a shepherd to follow, the lambs would wander into dangerous territory, falling down ravines or being attacked by wolves or lions. Jesus spoke of Himself as the Good Shepherd who cares for His sheep–not as a hireling–but as one who owns His flock. He said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” (John 10:14 NKJV)

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     Like sheep, we are prone to wander into precarious situations. Only when we fix our eyes on our Shepherd will we be safe and secure from Satan who loves to disrupt and destroy. Peter warns believers to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. “ (1 Peter 5:8 NKJV)

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     Lord, I praise you for your leading and protection for our family and our church. With You as our Shepherd we can say with David, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6 NKJV)

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     Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4–5 NIV

MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD

GOD’S LIVING ACTIVE WORD 

 Psalm 19
     The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple… They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey…   Psalm 19:7b, 10

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     David praises the Scriptures as trustworthy, right, radiant, pure and altogether righteous. Then he asks the question, “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.”(19:12)

     Meditating on God’s Word gives us discernment. The voices of the world and the devil are ever with us and Satan often presents his ideas in a reasonable way. The only way to correctly sort out our own thoughts is by time spent in the Word.

     “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:12)

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     Thank You Lord when the message is sweeter than honey from the honeycomb. Thank You also, when it convicts me and motivates me to correct my sinful thoughts and misguided actions. What wisdom and riches we have in Your trustworthy Word! We need that wisdom as we seek to cultivate a love of Scripture in the hearts of our children.

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     May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.     Psalm 19:14 NIV

ETERNAL PLEASURES

THE PATH OF LIFE
Read Psalm 16
     You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 NIV

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     In this Psalm David expresses joy and security in the knowledge that God has long range plans for him: The promised Messiah would come through David’s descendants, and would one day be crucified, buried and rise from the dead.

     The apostle Peter quoted from Psalm 16 on the Day of Pentecost: “David said about Him: my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy one see decay.” (Acts 2:26b-27)

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     Heavenly Father; I praise You for making “known to me the path of life.” Because I received the message of the gospel, I can say like David, “you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance…Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.(Psalms 16:5-6, 9) Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

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     I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:2 NIV

THE SOURCE OF LIFE

FRUIT IN SEASON
Read Psalm 1
                 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly… His delight is in the law of the LORD and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.  Psalm 1: 1a, 2-3 NKJV

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                 God’s Word never goes out of vogue for Christians. It is relevant for every stage of life, and is the source of life itself. 

     Believers who ask the Lord for wisdom with their children will find it, for he has promised, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6 NKJV)

     Then when the children are grown, God’s Word says that those parents will still bear fruit in old age and be fresh and flourishing. (Psalm 92:14 NKJV)

 

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       Lord, I want to meditate daily on Your Word so that I can sort out the many voices of advice that the world gives.  Only by knowing the truth can I recognize error, and find that narrow way that leads to life. Help me to influence our children so that they too will “delight in the law of the Lord.” and avoid the “counsel of the ungodly.”

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      Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105 NIV

RETURN TO JERUSALEM

RESTORATION AND BLESSING 

Read Ezra 1–6

     In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia …” Ezra 1:1a NIV

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     When the prophesied seventy years of Israel’s captivity had past, God moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to send the people back to their land. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, “They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia”. (Ezra 6:14)

 

     God had caused the Medes and the Persians to take over the Babylonian kingdom just in time to fulfill His Word. He used worldly powers to bring judgment on His people, and now He used them to bring restoration and blessing.

 

     The road to restoration was not easy; the people had to work hard to rebuild the destroyed temple–and later the city walls. They would face discouragement and harassment from their neighbors; but in spite of this, the work went on and they were restored to the land.

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     Thank you, Lord, that Your discipline is not forever, and its purpose is for our good–for You have said, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves,” (Hebrews 12:5–6 NIV)

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     “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalms 30:5 NIV

YOU HAVE NOT LISTENED

I WILL BRING THEM BACK

 Read Jeremiah 25:1–11

 

     Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words… This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”   Jeremiah 25:8, 11 NIV

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     Josiah was a good king, who fought against idolatry, but the people continued to run after other gods. After Josiah’s death, God brought a message through the prophet Jeremiah: “the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” (25:8-9a)  

     God was going to allow His people to be carried off to Babylon for seventy years, and after that they would return to the land. Jeremiah had no choice but to faithfully declare God’s message–even though no one wanted to hear it. When it actually happened, just as God had said, there could be no doubt that this was the Word of the Lord.

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     Heavenly Father, Give us faith to trust Your Word even when we see our nation ignoring it. We need courage to share the Truth in our generation even when no one wants to hear it. Help our churches to be faithful in teaching the Bible and declaring the gospel with clarity. Raise up godly men to lead our country in truth and righteousness.

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     “I will bring them (back) from the land of the north… They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble.”   Jeremiah 31:8-9 NIV