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I love the Psalms

~ Connecting daily with God through the Psalms

I love the Psalms

Daily Archives: May 21, 2021

Living the Word

21 Friday May 2021

Posted by davidkitz in Psalms, Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

David Kitz, good shepherd, Psalms 365, the word

The main body parts for reading the Bible aren’t the eyes and brain; it’s the hands and feet. This theme is woven throughout Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer. As it should be! The focus on living the Word, or as James puts it, “doing it” (James 1:25) is what makes this study in the Psalms top-notch.

Dr. Lawson Murray
President, Scripture Union Canada

Living the Word—now that’s a challenge. Are you up to the challenge? Can you get beyond reading the Word to the point of doing it. Yes, are you living out the Word in real time?RGB72PsalmsVol2

My hope is that through the daily devotions in this 256 page book, you will hear the Good Shepherd calling you to a deeper relationship with him. After all, a journey through the Psalms is a journey to intimacy with God.

Volume II of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer by award-winning author David Kitz is available now. For a closer look at Volumes I and II click here.

Chosen to Suffer?

21 Friday May 2021

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 129, Psalms

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

blessing, chosen people, God's chosen, persecution, Suffering

Reading: Psalm 129
A song of ascents.
“They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,”
let Israel say;
“they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
but they have not gained the victory over me.
Plowmen have plowed my back
and made their furrows long.
But the L
ORD is righteous;
he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”
May all who hate Zion
be turned back in shame.
May they be like grass on the roof,
which withers before it can grow;
a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,
nor one who gathers fill his arms.
May those who pass by not say to them,
“The blessing of the L
ORD be on you;
we bless you in the name of the L
ORD” (NIV).*

img_20210512_0840391

Bilberry Creek, Orleans, ON — photo by David Kitz

Reflection
A few years back I had a conversation with a Jewish friend about what it means to be numbered among God’s chosen people. I found his response quite surprising.

“Most people see being God’s chosen as a great honor or a blessing. The reality is quite different. The reality is persecution. The reality is envy and hatred by your neighbors. The reality is six million dead in the Holocaust. We are God’s chosen people. Is that a blessing? Sometimes it feels like a curse.”

Psalm 129 reflects the truth of my friend’s words: “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me. Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long.”

Often we make the assumption that being chosen by God will bring great blessing. But being called and chosen does not mean trouble free. The apostle Paul was God’s called and chosen messenger to the Gentiles, but fulfilling his mission involved tremendous suffering, beatings, imprisonment and ultimately martyrdom. See 2 Corinthians 11:22-33. Paul makes this observation about his calling: For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings (1 Corinthians 4:9).

Genuinely following Jesus in the world today can lead directly to persecution. Amnesty International reports that 80% of the systemic persecution in the world today is targeted at Christians. There is often a price to pay for being God’s chosen.

Response: Father God, I pray for those who are facing severe persecution, whatever their faith may be. But I pray especially for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Have mercy on them for Jesus sake. Amen.

Your Turn: Do you see yourself as chosen by God? He has called you to be His child by regeneration.

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Volume II of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer by award-winning author David Kitz is available now. For a closer look at Volumes I and II click here.

Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer

Psalms 365 Volume II

Psalms 365 vol 3
— Psalms 365 Volume III

Psalms

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