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When will I see your face?
Petrie Island at sunset — photo by David Kitz
He spoke and it came to be
18 Sunday Sep 2016
Posted in Psalms, Sunday's Psalm
Category Archives: Psalms
The Courts of the LORD
17 Saturday Sep 2016
Posted in Psalms, Saturday's Psalm
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When will I see your face?
Secluded river trail, Orleans, ON — photo by David Kitz
How lovely is your dwelling place,
LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
(Psalm 84:1-2 NIV)
Proclaiming Your Love in the Morning
16 Friday Sep 2016
Reading: Psalm 92
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
Verses 1-8
It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
How great are your works, LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.
But you, LORD, are forever exalted (NIV).
Reflection
Why is music such a central part of the Christian worship experience? For the answer to that question we need to look no further than the opening lines of Psalm 92. It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.
I sing for joy at what your hands have done — photo by David Kitz
To put it simply, praising the LORD is a good thing. Making music to honor the name of the Most High is a wholesome expression of our love for God. Furthermore, the LORD approves the use of musical instruments. The harp and the lyre are mentioned here, but there is no scriptural reason to limit the use of instruments.
Why do men sing love songs? Because they love the woman of their dreams—the object of their affection. The same holds true when we fall in love with God. The LORD becomes the object of our deepest affection. He is worthy of our praise.
Do you need some reasons to praise God? The psalmist provides us with some sound reasons: For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts!
If the marvels of creation are insufficient to prompt us to praise, then consider for a moment the wonders of redemption. God sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die on our behalf. He purchased our eternal redemption with the shed blood of Jesus. Oh what love! What wondrous love! It makes me want to break out in song.
Response: LORD God, every morning I want to praise you. Thank you for the gift of music. Help me use my voice and every talent you have given me to express my praise to you. Amen.
Your Turn: Do you enjoy praising God? Do you save your praise for Sundays or is it expressed daily?
Satisfaction!
15 Thursday Sep 2016
Tags
protection, Psalms, rescue, salvation, satisfaction, sex obsessed, the LORD
Reading: Psalm 91
Verses 9-16
If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation” (NIV).
Reflection
Let’s be honest. We all want it. We all want satisfaction. For our sex-obsessed society that can only mean one thing, but in reality personal satisfaction encompasses so many facets of life. I want a satisfying meal when I sit down to dinner this evening. I want satisfactory service at the restaurant, at the auto repair shop and on the plane that I’m catching tomorrow. Above all else I want a satisfying life.
Ah, a lazy late summer afternoon — Sweet Satisfaction — photo by David Kitz
This may come as a surprise to many people, but the simple truth is God wants to give you a satisfying life. Here is the long list of promises that the LORD promises to undertake on your behalf. “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation”
In summary, we will be protected and rescued. Our prayers will be answered. We will know God’s presence in times of trouble. And just imagine this; the LORD will honor us. Consider for a moment the implications of that. Furthermore, we are promised eternal salvation, and in the here and now, we will have a long and satisfying life.
That sounds like an amazing offer and it truly is. But there are two conditions attached. We need say, “The LORD is my refuge.” In other word we need to confess our dependence on God, and then we must make the Most High our dwelling. We need to live in God, not our own little world, but rather His world with our minds and hearts set on Him. Are you ready for that kind of satisfaction?
Response: LORD, you are such a good God. I don’t deserve your goodness and love and yet you continually pour out your blessings. I love you, LORD. I want to dwell in you. Amen.
Your Turn: What do you think it means to dwell in God?
Resting in the Shadow of the Almighty
14 Wednesday Sep 2016
Tags
Reading: Psalm 91
Verses 1-8
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD,
“He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked (NIV).
Reflection
Trust is a fascinating concept and it is expressed in various forms. In his book entitled, The Silver Lining, the early twentieth century Christian writer J.H. Jowett makes this observation about trust:
“Trust in the Lord.” “Trust.” It is, perhaps, helpful to remember that the word which is here translated “trust” is elsewhere in the Old Testament translated “careless.” “Be careless in the Lord!” Instead of carrying a load of care let care be absent! It is the carelessness of little children running about the house in the assurance of their father’s providence and love. It is the singing disposition that leaves something for the parent to do. Assume that He is working as well as thyself, and working even when things appear to be adverse.
Sheltered cove on the Ottawa River — photo by David Kitz
Do you have a childlike trust and carelessness in the Lord? That’s the lifestyle that Psalm 91 calls us to. If I am dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and resting in the shadow of the Almighty, I have nothing to fear. I can go about my life with a carefree mindset, because the Almighty cares for me. He has me covered. The psalmist says just that: He [the LORD] will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
We live in a world where fear is contagious. Will there be another terrorist attack, a stock market collapse, a recession? Will my marriage survive—my children turn out okay? The child of God lives in a carefree, worry-free, safe zone. Do you trust the Almighty?
Response: LORD God, you are my shelter in a stormy world. I am so safe—so very safe—when I am with you. I want to live each day in the confidence that you care for me as a loving Father for His child. Amen.
Your Turn: If you truly know the loving nature of God, trust should come easily. Does it for you?
Numbering Your Days
13 Tuesday Sep 2016
Tags
brevity of life, God, humility, meaning of life, Moses, purpose, wisdom
Reading: Psalm 90
Verses 7-12
We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (NIV).
Reflection
The finite nature of our lives here on planet earth should cause us to give serious thought to how we spend the days that we have been allotted. Once we reach the age of forty, roughly half of our life is over. Some claim it’s all downhill from that point forward. Life seems to speed up—to pass by quickly— as we careen toward our demise.
Riverside getaway — photo by David Kitz
Moses concludes his prayer here in Psalm 90 with these words: Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
No one wants to reach the end of their days and then realize that they have wasted their life. In our hearts, we all want to have a meaningful life filled with purpose. Much of that striving for success and our drive for a long list of accomplishments comes from a desire for meaning and purpose in life. Moses certainly had a string of achievements on his resume before the LORD called him home. He was after all the liberator of a nation. He was revered as a great leader and the great law giver. But was that due to Moses’ great ambition?
The Bible paints a different picture of Moses. When God called him into service, Moses resisted. The adopted son of Pharaoh was content to shepherd a few sheep on the backside of the desert. But God had other plans—bigger plans. This is what we are told about Moses. Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3).
Perhaps true wisdom begins with humility—with knowing our place in the grand scheme of things. It starts as it did for Moses by hearing God’s call and ultimately being willing to obey, whatever that takes and wherever that takes us.
Response: LORD, teach me to number my days, so I may gain a heart of wisdom. Give me ears to hear what you are saying to me. I want to live a meaningful life filled with purpose coming from you. Amen.
Your Turn: Are you numbering your days or are they numbering you? Are you following God’s call?
An Eternal God in a Temporal World
12 Monday Sep 2016
Tags
Ecclesiastes, eternal, Glenn Fobert, God, life, Moses, Psalms, temporal, the meaning of life
Reading: Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
Verses 1-6
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered (NIV).
Reflection
In case you have not noticed, your life on this earth is temporal. It won’t last forever. In fact, there is very little on this earth that fits into the “lasts forever category.” My car fits well into this rusty, temporal category. My physical body will suffer a similar fate. My morning aches and pains remind me of this outcome. In this psalm Moses states the obvious when he makes this declaration: You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
Morning mist on the Ottawa River — photo by David Kitz
James, the brother of our Lord, makes a similar observation: You should know better than to say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money!” What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears (James 4:13-14).
Only God stands apart, above and beyond this temporal world. He is the ageless One, untouched by time. This assertion holds true. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
The entire book of Ecclesiastes addresses the topic of the temporal nature of human life. Glenn Fobert has written an excellent book that explains the true meaning of that puzzling book: Everything Is Mist: Ecclesiastes on Life in a Puzzling and Troubled Temporary World
Life is not meaningless or vanity. According to Fobert, scholars have mistranslated the Hebrew word for mist in Ecclesiastes. Life is like a morning fog that lifts and it is gone. Where has it gone? It goes to the eternal One, the Creator of all life. How then should we live? Ecclesiastes gives us the answer. Simply live in full reverence and praise to your Maker.
Response: LORD God, I thank you for being the author of this wonderful thing called life. Today I want to live in humble thanksgiving and praise to you. Let my work, words and conduct honor you. Amen.
Your Turn: Is the Lord your dwelling place? Are you at home with Him?
Thirsty for God
11 Sunday Sep 2016
Posted in Psalms, Sunday's Psalm
Like Streams in the Desert
10 Saturday Sep 2016
Posted in Psalms, Saturday's Psalm
Your Anointed One
09 Friday Sep 2016
Tags
anointed, Christ, death, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Messiah, resurrection
Reading: Psalm 89
Verses 46-52
How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
Remember how fleeting is my life.
For what futility you have created all humanity!
Who can live and not see death,
or who can escape the power of the grave?
Lord, where is your former great love,
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked,
how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
the taunts with which your enemies, LORD, have mocked,
with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.
Praise be to the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen (NIV).
Reflection
Many people believe that Christ is Jesus’ last name. That is not the case. The Bible does not tell us Jesus’ family name. Often he is identified by the town that he is from—Jesus of Nazareth. So what then is the significance of the word Christ or Khristos in the Greek? Christ is a title. One might even call it a job description. It means the anointed one, the one who is designated by God to rule and reign over his people. The Greek word Khristos or Christ corresponds to the Hebrew word Mashiach or Messiah. The anointed one or Christ was and is the son of David who rules over the house of Jacob and the Israel of God.
The wide Ottawa River with Quebec on the opposite shore — photo by David Kitz
When we read Psalm 89 with the understanding that the anointed one is also the Christ, the psalm takes on a whole new layer of meaning. Yes, during the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, the anointed one was mocked. But this is also true of Jesus, the anointed Son of David, who was led off to be crucified outside the city gate. These words were fulfilled in Christ: Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, the taunts with which your enemies, LORD, have mocked, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.
But there is a significant difference between the Old Testament, anointed one, and our New Testament Christ. The psalmist asks this question: Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave?
The implicit answer is that no one can escape death and the grave. But… but there is One—One, who tasted death on our behalf—One, who escaped the power of the grave. His name is Jesus. He is the Christ, the anointed One, and our Messiah. He is the One who by virtue of the resurrection is King now and forevermore.
Response: LORD God, I thank you for Jesus, the Christ, the anointed One. Thank you for your death, burial and resurrection. I join with the psalmist in saying, “Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.”
Your Turn: In what way is Christ a job description? What job has he done and is he doing for you?
I love the Psalms 