Month: April 2024

Let the whole earth sing!

Headlines! News travels fast! Negativity can traverse the world over before something positive gets out the door! In today’s reading, I couldn’t help but notice the antidote to the headlines of our day. Psalm 96 turns our attention away from the morbid and maddening to the magnificent! Instead of miring down our minds with the news of the world’s depravity, God’s Word elevates our attention to the glorious—God Himself. It is among the heathen, in the middle of the mess, that we are to put our minds on the wonder of God!

O sing unto the LORD a new song: Sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; Shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, His wonders among all people. (Psalm 96:1–3, KJV)

So, how do we focus on God when the negativity of our day demands our attention? We start by telling everyone about the amazing things God does. And who better to start with than ourselves? Isn’t it easy to forget that God is in control? That nothing surprises Him? That He cannot be backed into the corner? That His power and might are above all? That the complexity of the situation is no match for His wisdom? It is good to remind ourselves that God is great and greatly to be praised. That we should fear not the raging of the heathen nor their gods. Their gods are but mere idols. The Psalmist reminds us that the Lord God made the heavens!

For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: But the Lord made the heavens. (Psalm 96:4–5, KJV)

Next, the nations need to know that God is great!

Tell all the nations, “The LORD reigns!” The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly. (Psalm 96:10, NLT)

Now, we may wonder how we will tell the nations about our God’s great sovereignty. For most of us, who better to start with than our neighbor? Those around us need to know that we are not shaken by the world’s depravity and resulting mess, regardless of how that may manifest itself. And why are we not shaken? Because the Lord God reigns! While the hearts of men fail them for the things they see coming upon this earth (Luke 21:26), our hearts and minds are kept in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3)!

With that said, the Psalmist reminds us in poetic form that all of creation knows this, and it, too, praises the Lord! Psalm 96:11-13 describes the heavens, the earth, the sea, the fields, the crops, and the forests all sing for joy and cry out in praise unto God. In other words, there isn’t one thing that shouldn’t direct all attention and glory to God somehow! 

Child of God, what great things has God done for you, and how great has your praise been to him? It is time to sing a new song unto the Lord! It is time to proclaim to ourselves His glorious deeds! It is time for others to know that God is great in our lives, He is great in this world, and all of creation testifies to this truth!

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Psalms 89; 96; 100-101; 105; 132.

The Great Shepherd!

Today’s reading contains many famous Psalms! Psalm 1 describes the blessed person. Psalm 2 calms the soul through God’s sovereignty over all the nations and their plans to overthrow Him. Psalm 22 is prophetic, foretelling Christ’s crucifixion. Psalms 23 and 24 are the Psalms of the Great Shepherd and the Great King! And Psalm 68 is a Psalm of praise retracing the goodness of God in Israel’s history!

Psalm 23 stood out to me this morning. The stillness (vs. 1-3), security (vs. 4-5), and satisfaction (v. 6) spoken of in this Psalm—how it has resonated with saints for millennia! 

When I think of Psalm 23’s stillness, I see a massive clash with the culture of the West. Here in America, we have known prosperity and wealth on such a scale that our poorest would be considered wealthy in many other parts of the world. Yet, our want has out-multiplied our wealth. There is no stillness in our culture. Our culture’s extreme want has frenzied us with stress and anxiety, fueling a market that offers the promise of synthetic stillness. Yet, for all the prescriptions, we continue to spiral out of control. There is no substitute for the Great Shepherd! Notice the Bible’s prescription.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1–3, KJV)

When I think of Psalm 23’s security, I see a sound mind and soul that is unafraid! Yet, in our Western culture, fear-mongering abounds. There’s always some new, secret formula to living longer, and you must have it! Oh, it can be yours for a small subscription fee. Conspiracy theories abound, from wormholes to aliens. Oh, and the world was supposed to end two years ago! And for all the so-called progress of our society, we can’t let our kids walk down the street—for that matter—we don’t dare walk down the street! Again, there is no substitute for the Great Shepherd!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. (Psalm 23:4–5, KJV)

When I think of Psalm 23’s satisfaction, I don’t see any of the virtues the world promotes. There is no mention of progress, wealth, health, or longevity. Those things are no substitute for the Great Shepherd’s goodness and mercy! The Psalmist was satisfied with God’s goodness and mercy in this life and the anticipation of dwelling with the Great Shepherd in His house in the life to come. Notice what he says.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (Psalm 23:6, KJV)

Child of God, let the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, shepherd your soul! In Him, we will find a supernatural stillness, a security that will keep our hearts and minds from fragmenting, and a satisfaction that surpasses all understanding!

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Psalms 1-2; 15; 22-24; 47; 68.

Righteousness = Rejoicing!

David is firmly established as king of Israel! David realizes it, the people realize it, and the surrounding nations know it. God greatly blesses Israel, joy speaks across the land, and the fear of David spreads to other kingdoms.

And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel. (1 Chronicles 14:2, KJV)

And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations. (1 Chronicles 14:17, KJV)

What a stark contrast between Saul’s and David’s reigns! This morning’s reading brought to mind a verse from the Book of Proverbs.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: But when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. (Proverbs 29:2, KJV)

In the reading this morning, there is much rejoicing. King David brought the Ark of God, representing God’s presence, back to the place of worship. It had been disregarded under Saul and left in obscurity. Apparently, to Saul, the presence of God wasn’t a big deal—it wasn’t worth the effort that David was about to go through to honor God. 

Now, David’s initial intentions could have gone better. But the nation under Saul had departed from honoring God and doing anything right for so long that it lost its knowledge and reverence for God. While their intentions were honorable, their presumption and irreverence for God and His methods cost one man his life. God was not okay with being treated any old way! This caused some serious national reflection from the king down to the people. They returned to God’s law and studied how to move the Ark of God.

This time of reflection became a time of repentance. This time of studying God’s law became a time of awareness. This awareness and repentance resulted in consecration (to set apart) and obedience—notice David’s words to the Levites.

and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” (1 Chronicles 15:12–13, ESV)

The result of repentance and the people setting themselves apart to obey God nationwide was a return to joy, praise, and worship (1 Chronicles 16:36, 40)! Oh, how true: when the wicked rule, the people mourn, but when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice!

Believers, our reverence for God, our going back to the Bible, and consecration—that is, setting ourselves apart from sin unto righteousness—affects our joy, praise, and worship. It affects our families, churches, and nation! As Christians, may we honor God in our lives. May we encourage others to honor God with their lives. And may those around us see our praise and joy and revere our God with us!

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from 2 Samuel 5:11-6:23; 1 Chronicles 13-16:43.

And God heard them!

Has the Lord redeemed you and saved you from trouble? Has He saved you from your enemies? Then speak out! Or, another way to say this is, let the redeemed of the Lord say so! This is the theme of Psalm 107, part of this morning’s reading.

The truth is, have we not all cried out to God in a moment of desperation? Has not trouble from others or of our own making put us in a tough spot, and there was no one to turn to but God? Perhaps you didn’t even have a relationship with God, but you desperately cried out to Him, and He answered you! I have seen this several times in my pastoral work. For example, someone ends up in the hospital and cries out to God, who answers them miraculously. Did they deserve a response from God? No! Psalm 107 this morning gives us four examples of cases where undeserving (really, that’s all of us) people call out to God, and He answers them.

Psalm 107:4-9 reminds me of those who go about life without God. Their life is characterized by wandering. They wander from one vain thought, idea, motive, or lust to the next. All the while, they grow more and more thirsty as they discover this world cannot satisfy their soul. The story of Jesus and the woman at the well reminds me of this. Notice what Jesus said to her.

but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14, ESV)

What did this woman do after she found Jesus? She spoke out!

Psalm 107:10-16 brings to mind the rebellious who have scorned God and lived the hard life that follows the blasphemous. The psalmist describes them as imprisoned with deep gloom, misery, and darkness. They are chained to their misery. Yet, somehow, they come to the end of themselves and cry to God out of great distress, the God they have for so long rejected, and God snaps their chains! Did they deserve this? No! This reminds me of the thief on the cross who called out to Jesus. What did Jesus tell him in Luke 23:43? Today, you will be with me in paradise!

Psalm 107:17-22 talks of those who have rebelled in their sin and wasted their bodies and minds to the point of death. I have seen this happen several times. Sometimes, we call it the “deathbed profession.” Sometimes it’s the “God, if you heal me, I will…(fill in the blank)!” What does God do? He sends out His word and heals them (Psalm 107:20)! Do they deserve this? No! 

Psalm 107:23-32 reminds me of the well-off, rich, and wealthy who “ply the trade routes of the world” and think they do not need God. They are comfortable and prosperous, that is until the financial storm hits. Desperate, they cry to God, realizing that riches have wings and can fly away like an eagle. God does not ignore even them!

What can we say? None of us deserves God’s gracious response! Yet, Psalm 107:33-42 describes poetically God’s various reactions to our cries. Has God answered your cry? Then speak out!

Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, Even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD. (Psalm 107:43, KJV)

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Psalm 106-107.

Enlivened and refreshed!

Unity! Today’s reading is only three verses. Though the reading is short, it is powerful! By context, my chronological Bible reading plan places this Psalm right after all of Israel has come together and made David the king. As you may recall, David wasn’t made king over all of Israel upon Saul’s death, only Judah. Saul’s family still ruled over Israel for several more years. Finally, the Lord ended Saul’s dynasty, and Israel united and anointed David as their king (2 Samuel 5:1-5). Psalm 133:1 speaks to the pleasantness of this moment in Israel’s history.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1, KJV)

Imagine living in a nation where there was unity in God’s will! That would be pleasant! Imagine being in a church where there was unity in God’s will! Imagine a marriage and home life rooted in unity! How good this would be! The Psalmist David likens the pleasantness and goodness of unity to two things.

First, unity is likened to anointing oil. 

It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; (Psalm 133:2, KJV)

This oil was not just any oil! David references the anointing oil Moses used on Aaron. A perfumer or an apothecary blended this oil. It was blended according to a recipe, using the finest spices, some of which include liquid myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, and aromatic cane (Exodus 30:22–25). The scent that diffused from this oil enlivened the senses much like a fine perfume! Now, the scent of a fine perfume versus the smell of something dead and rotting produces different reactions, doesn’t it? One is pleasant, and one is repulsive! 

Second, unity is likened to dew. 

As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. (Psalm 133:3, KJV)

Unity is not only pleasant and enlivening; it is refreshing! It is pictured as the dew that refreshes life itself. Is there anything more refreshing after a hot, windy, and parched day than a calm, cool evening dew? How the dew waters the thirsty! How it softens what has become brittle! Oh, the stillness and quietness that it brings! It relieves tension, settles nerves, and softens turmoil. How good and how pleasant is unity! Unity had finally come to Israel with the anointing of David as king. 

It doesn’t take much to realize how much we need unity. Unity starts with being in harmony with God. Sometimes, we try to fit God into our harmony, but that never works. We will be enlivened and refreshed as we live in agreement and unity with the Word of God. Is the Word of God diffusing its aroma in your life? Is the dew of God’s presence in your life refreshing you, though the days may be hot and windy sometimes? Unity with God is something we all have control over. It is pleasant! It is good! If we have unity with God, we will have unity with others who have unity with God. Now that combination is powerful, enlivening, and refreshing! 

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Psalm 133.