July 25, 2006 - Psalms 37-39 and Acts 26
It is so important for each of us to realize how much God cares for us. We do not have to try to find our own happiness and fulfillment. We need to look to the Lord, and He will supply us with more than we could ever want of the things that really matter in life.
Look at Psalm 37:4. It is one of my favorite verses. It tells us that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, but He can only do that in a good conscience when we are putting our delight in Him. How devastating it would be for Him to give us our desires when our hearts were focused on the wrong things! It would destroy us. He does not want to harm us, but to bless us. Therefore, once we focus on Him and delight in His will, then, we have the correct desires, and He will gladly give us those types of desires. Most people are angry at God because He doesn't give them what they want all of the time. We should be thankful that He is not that kind of Heavenly Father.
In Psalms 38 and 39 David is talking about different subjects, but in both psalms he tells us that his hope is in the Lord. He is looking to God to supply his well being in the future. That is what we mean by hope. What do you have hope in today? If your hope is in anything besides the Lord, you will fail to realize that hope. If your hope is in God, there is nothing that anyone can do to steal that hope from you. You can be totally secure in the future provision of the Lord.
That is what Paul was trying to get across to Agrippa in Acts 26. He shared the hope of the Gospel with him. He explained his belief in the resurrection to him. He gave his testimony of how he was saved on the way to Damascus. He told him that he could have forgiveness for his sins through Christ. Agrippa listened, and he came close to believing, but he did not put his trust in the Lord. He decided to put his hope in something else. What a tragedy! I pray that you will not be like Agrippa. Don't fall short of having the only real hope there is in this world.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 40-42 and Acts 27:1-26.
Look at Psalm 37:4. It is one of my favorite verses. It tells us that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, but He can only do that in a good conscience when we are putting our delight in Him. How devastating it would be for Him to give us our desires when our hearts were focused on the wrong things! It would destroy us. He does not want to harm us, but to bless us. Therefore, once we focus on Him and delight in His will, then, we have the correct desires, and He will gladly give us those types of desires. Most people are angry at God because He doesn't give them what they want all of the time. We should be thankful that He is not that kind of Heavenly Father.
In Psalms 38 and 39 David is talking about different subjects, but in both psalms he tells us that his hope is in the Lord. He is looking to God to supply his well being in the future. That is what we mean by hope. What do you have hope in today? If your hope is in anything besides the Lord, you will fail to realize that hope. If your hope is in God, there is nothing that anyone can do to steal that hope from you. You can be totally secure in the future provision of the Lord.
That is what Paul was trying to get across to Agrippa in Acts 26. He shared the hope of the Gospel with him. He explained his belief in the resurrection to him. He gave his testimony of how he was saved on the way to Damascus. He told him that he could have forgiveness for his sins through Christ. Agrippa listened, and he came close to believing, but he did not put his trust in the Lord. He decided to put his hope in something else. What a tragedy! I pray that you will not be like Agrippa. Don't fall short of having the only real hope there is in this world.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 40-42 and Acts 27:1-26.