July 20, 2006 - Psalms 26-28 and Acts 22
Over the years the Lord has spoken to me through the psalms about several specific truths that I have needed to learn. I suppose He could have used other passages of Scripture, but He used the Psalms. That is one reason I cherish them so much. I want to share a few of those truths with you today. I pray they will bless you as they have blessed me.
Psalm 26 speaks to us about God's vindication. David was falsely accused of many things at many different times in his life. He came to understand that he could not prove to everyone that the accusations were false, but God could vindicate him for his actions. I believe this is very important. We can become defensive when people attack us, and we can be constantly trying to explain why we acted in a particular way. However, being defensive turns other people off. We need to simply state our position and go on with our lives. We need to trust that God will show others the sincerity of our hearts and our integrity without us having to continually justify every action.
Psalm 27 speaks to us about overcoming fear. Fear can paralyze our lives. We must come to the place where we do not fear what people can do to us. We must live with the realization that God is our light and our strength, so why do we need to be afraid. There are many people who live their entire lives based on what others will think about them or say about them. They do this out of fear of rejection. This fear will destroy their lives. We must live out of the fear of the Lord, but not the fear of man. We must allow God to give us the victory over this fear of rejection, so we can do His will every time, no matter what people think.
In Psalm 28 David is praising God for answering his prayers. He is showing an attitude of thanksgiving, because of God's faithfulness to protect him from his enemies. That is a critical attitude for all of us. We must be willing to give God the credit for working through us. He does not share His glory with anyone. If we will give Him credit, He will bless us wonderfully in His way.
Acts 22 is Paul's defense of his faith in front of the angry mob. We are all called on to be able to give a reason for what we believe, to defend our faith. Can you do that? When was the last time you shared your testimony of salvation with someone? God wants us to make it a regular practice to tell what He has done in our lives, and especially how He came to us and saved us from our sins. It should come to be something we can do very naturally, even in difficult situations like Paul was in here. I pray that all of us will be ready to give a defense of our faith today and every day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 29-30 and Acts 23:1-15.
Psalm 26 speaks to us about God's vindication. David was falsely accused of many things at many different times in his life. He came to understand that he could not prove to everyone that the accusations were false, but God could vindicate him for his actions. I believe this is very important. We can become defensive when people attack us, and we can be constantly trying to explain why we acted in a particular way. However, being defensive turns other people off. We need to simply state our position and go on with our lives. We need to trust that God will show others the sincerity of our hearts and our integrity without us having to continually justify every action.
Psalm 27 speaks to us about overcoming fear. Fear can paralyze our lives. We must come to the place where we do not fear what people can do to us. We must live with the realization that God is our light and our strength, so why do we need to be afraid. There are many people who live their entire lives based on what others will think about them or say about them. They do this out of fear of rejection. This fear will destroy their lives. We must live out of the fear of the Lord, but not the fear of man. We must allow God to give us the victory over this fear of rejection, so we can do His will every time, no matter what people think.
In Psalm 28 David is praising God for answering his prayers. He is showing an attitude of thanksgiving, because of God's faithfulness to protect him from his enemies. That is a critical attitude for all of us. We must be willing to give God the credit for working through us. He does not share His glory with anyone. If we will give Him credit, He will bless us wonderfully in His way.
Acts 22 is Paul's defense of his faith in front of the angry mob. We are all called on to be able to give a reason for what we believe, to defend our faith. Can you do that? When was the last time you shared your testimony of salvation with someone? God wants us to make it a regular practice to tell what He has done in our lives, and especially how He came to us and saved us from our sins. It should come to be something we can do very naturally, even in difficult situations like Paul was in here. I pray that all of us will be ready to give a defense of our faith today and every day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 29-30 and Acts 23:1-15.