May 20 - Psalms 13-16
Have you ever felt that God had forgotten you or that He was hiding from you? David expresses that feeling in Psalm 13. He urges God to listen and to respond to him. Then, he simply expresses his trust in God's mercy. He knew that God had blessed him bountifully in the past, so why should he not know that God was watching out for him then. We must be careful about our emotions. They will fool us. We may not feel God, but He is there. We must trust in His goodness.
How foolish it is to believe that there is no God. A person has to ignore all of the signs of God in creation and in his own life to be an atheist, but some people do just that. This leads them to corruption and to terrible works, because all of us are sinful, and none of us does good on our own. That is why Psalm 14 affirms that the poor and all of us must take our refuge in the Lord. We can't live life as we should without Him, even though the fool will try.
Psalm 15 is a gut check for each of us. What does it take to stand before the Lord to worship in purity? It takes more than saying we are clean. There must have been an inward change that led to outward changes, too. It was the same in the Old Testament as it is now. When a person put his trust in God, then God changed his heart. A new heart led to a different lifestyle. That is what God is looking for when we come into His presence. Are we being real with God?
Psalm 16 expresses the concept of Lordship for the believer. We come to see that "my goodness is nothing apart from You." We come to delight in other believers who are also allowing the Lord to lead their lives. We realize that God must be before us at all times, so that He can establish us in every situation of life. (v.8) God will even take care of us when we die. (v.10) There is a reward for making Jesus Lord of your life, too. There is fullness of joy in this life and forevermore. What a deal! Why would anyone resist such a wonderful life? I think you know the pride and the flesh reasons for living life our own way, but none of them are valid. Make Jesus your Lord today.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 17-19.
How foolish it is to believe that there is no God. A person has to ignore all of the signs of God in creation and in his own life to be an atheist, but some people do just that. This leads them to corruption and to terrible works, because all of us are sinful, and none of us does good on our own. That is why Psalm 14 affirms that the poor and all of us must take our refuge in the Lord. We can't live life as we should without Him, even though the fool will try.
Psalm 15 is a gut check for each of us. What does it take to stand before the Lord to worship in purity? It takes more than saying we are clean. There must have been an inward change that led to outward changes, too. It was the same in the Old Testament as it is now. When a person put his trust in God, then God changed his heart. A new heart led to a different lifestyle. That is what God is looking for when we come into His presence. Are we being real with God?
Psalm 16 expresses the concept of Lordship for the believer. We come to see that "my goodness is nothing apart from You." We come to delight in other believers who are also allowing the Lord to lead their lives. We realize that God must be before us at all times, so that He can establish us in every situation of life. (v.8) God will even take care of us when we die. (v.10) There is a reward for making Jesus Lord of your life, too. There is fullness of joy in this life and forevermore. What a deal! Why would anyone resist such a wonderful life? I think you know the pride and the flesh reasons for living life our own way, but none of them are valid. Make Jesus your Lord today.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 17-19.