Tag Archives: Jesus

Does Christ’s Suffering Help You During Times of Suffering and Loss?

29 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Psalm 22, Psalms

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Reading:                                       Psalm 22

Verses 22-26

I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear youI will fulfill my vows.
 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever! (NIV)

 Reflection

In this ongoing discussion of Psalm 22 we hit a critical turning point with yesterday’s scripture reading. The humiliated, pierced and tortured Christ prays, “But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen” (Psalm 22:19-21).

God the Father answered the prayer of his suffering Son, not immediately, but three days later Jesus arose from the dead. Now he reigns triumphant over death, hell and the grave. The opening words recorded here are the resurrected Christ’s song of triumph: I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

And why should we praise the LORD? Here is the answer: For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

In the context of this psalm, Christ is the afflict one. The prophet Isaiah declares, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Yes, praise Him! We have a Savior who can fully identify with every aspect of our humanity because he was fully human. He suffered even as we suffer. But in all this He is the victor. May your hearts live forever because of Jesus.

Response: Father, thank you for victory over death, hell and the grave through Your Son Jesus. Amen.

Your Turn: Does the knowledge of Christ’s suffering help you in times of personal pain or loss?

His Hands and Feet Were Pierced for Me

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Psalm 22, Psalms

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Reading:                                        Psalm 22

Verses 16-21

Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen. (NIV)

 Reflection

The title notes to Psalm 22 state, “A psalm of David.” But while this is David’s psalm, it’s entirely about Jesus—about our Savior’s personal thoughts and experience—about his suffering and death. Nowhere is this expressed more clearly than in the opening lines posted above: Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they piercemy hands and my feet.

On the rock hill called Golgotha, surrounded by his taunting enemies, Jesus is stripped naked. His hands and feet are pierced as he is nailed to the cross and lifted up for the whole world to see. The helpless Christ silently laments, “All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.”

All four Gospels record what happens next. The soldiers divide up Jesus clothes and gamble for his seamless garment. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did (John 19:24).

Thoughtless Roman soldiers fulfilled what David penned nine centuries earlier. But was Jesus truly helpless? If he was helpless, he was helpless by design. If he was forsaken by his Father, he was forsaken by design. This was a course of action that Jesus willingly chose. He lay down his life. The Lamb of God suffered and died that our sins might be atoned, that we may receive a full pardon. Redemption has come; the price has been paid.

The turning point in this psalm is found in the last stanza above. With unvoiced words Jesus cries out to be rescued and delivered from death. Three days later his prayer was answered.

Response: Lord Jesus, my thanks flows to you. You were forsaken that I might have eternal life. Thank you for thinking of me rather than of yourself. You deserve all praise. Amen.

Your Turn: What is the right response to the love Jesus showed?

Do You Believe in Prophecy?

24 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Psalm 22, Psalms

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Reading:                                        Psalm 22

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.”

A psalm of David.

Verses 1-8

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the LORD,” they say, “let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” (NIV)

Reflection

Do you believe in prophecy?

Psalm 22 is the most graphic description of Christ’s crucifixion found anywhere in the Bible. Yet here it is—tucked away among the Psalms—written 900 years before the birth of Christ. How can this be? During David’s time, crucifixion as a form of execution had not yet been invented. Furthermore, crucifixion is portrayed from the victim’s point of view—Jesus’ point of view. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These are the words of Jesus on the cross and they form the opening line of this psalm. Undoubtedly, Jesus knew he was quoting this psalm when he cried out in anguish.

But did his arrogant mockers know that they too were fulfilling scriptural prophecy as they hurled their insults, “He trusts in the LORD,” they say, “let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” These words from Psalm 22 find an uncanny parallel in the verbal abuse thrown at Jesus in Matthew 27:43 where we read, “He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

Remarkably, David saw it all. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he beheld the cross nine centuries in advance. I believe in prophecy fulfilled.  

Response: Father, thank you for sending your Son Jesus to this cruel world to suffer on my behalf. Thank you that I can put my trust in Your Holy Word. It was, is and will be forever true and trustworthy. Amen.

Your Turn: Why do you have confidence in God’s word?

The Living Rock

14 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Psalm 18, Psalms

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Reading:                                        Psalm 18

Verses 46-50

The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.

He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever. (NIV)

 Reflection

The joyful exuberance of the opening lines of this final reading from Psalm 18 is well worth reflecting upon. David exults, “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!”

To my thinking, there’s nothing quite as dead as a rock. But here in the same breath, David praises the living LORD, his Rock and his Savior. Living rock seems to be a contradiction in terms, but our God is very much alive. He was alive and active in David’s life, and He is alive and active in your life as well—as active and alive as you allow Him to be.

But the LORD also wants to be the Rock of stability in your life—the solid foundation from which you draw strength. A life anchored in God can withstand the storms of adversity and the test of time. The LORD is that stalwart mainstay that actively trains us for eternity.

Most importantly, our LORD saves. He saved David from all his troubles. It was God’s intervention in David’s life that brought him the victory time after time. God was not content to sit in heaven and cheer from the sidelines. The LORD got involved in David’s life. He responded to David’s cry for help.

If David had ample reasons to praise God and be thankful, we who live on this side of the cross have far more grounds for praise. God intervened for us. We have a Savior in Jesus, who left his throne in glory. He put His own skin in the game. The Father sent His one and only son to live as a man, and then suffer and die on our behalf. And Jesus did not remain dead. God the Father raised him from the dead. Now with David we can say, “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!”

Response: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus. Thank you for his life, his death and his resurrection. I love you, Lord Jesus. You are the living Rock on which I can build my life. Through you I am more than a conqueror. Holy Spirit help me live this day in praise of my Savior. Amen.

Your Turn: Is the LORD your living Rock? How will you honor Him today?

The Resurrection Psalm

23 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by in Psalm 16, Psalms

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Reading: Psalm 16:9-11

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (NIV)

 Reflection
In my previous post on Psalm 16, I wrote that in seed form all of the great truths of the New Testament are rooted in the Psalms. Already in this psalm we have seen that all our goodness and sufficiency come from God. David declares, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  

Furthermore, David states, “LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup.” For David the term portion means that the LORD is his personal allotment of food and drink. The LORD is not just David’s provider; He is his provision—his food and drink. With these words David is painting a picture that leads directly to the cross and the elements of communion. The LORD gives Himself to His people. Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me” (John 6: 56-57). In addition, Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). He truly is our portion and our cup.

David concludes Psalm 16 with the passage above. If the preceding verses are subtly prophetic, then the words recorded here are profoundly prophetic—stunningly so. This is the great resurrection prophecy of the Old Testament. In his turning-point sermon delivered on the Day of Pentecost, Peter quotes these verses verbatim to prove from the scriptures that Jesus was raised from the dead. See Acts 2:25-28.

In becoming our portion and our cup, Jesus gave himself fully. He held nothing back. He poured himself out even to the point of death—death on the cross. But God the Father did not abandon His Son in the grave. David writes, “My body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”

In his address in Acts 2, Peter points out that David’s body did see decay; however, David was speaking prophetically of the coming Messiah. Jesus, the Christ, was raised on the third day and lives and reigns forever. In Him, through Him and by Him along with David we can say, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

The truth of the resurrection is rooted in Psalm 16.

Response: Lord Jesus, you are my resurrection and my life. As I walk this path of life, I put my trust in you. You continually fill me with joy in your presence. Amen.

Your Turn: Is your life rooted in the resurrected Christ? How does Christ’s life flow into you?

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Eating and Drinking in God

19 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Psalm 16, Psalms

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Reading:                                       Psalm 16

A miktam of David. (Verses 1-8)

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.

 LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (NIV)

Reflection

In seed form all of the great truths of the New Testament are rooted in the Psalms. Psalm sixteen perfectly illustrates this little known fact. At the start of this psalm David declares, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

In his epistle to the Romans, Paul writes, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” His words are a rough paraphrase of David’s opening thoughts in Psalm 16. All of Romans chapter seven reflects our great need for our God and Saviour. Without Jesus there is no redemption and no hope for victory over sin. But with Paul we can joyfully conclude, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).

We find ourselves in full agreement with David’s words, “LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.” Our Saviour is our portion and cup—our food and drink. He alone is our cup of salvation. Unless we eat and drink of Him we die. David eloquently expresses his communion with the LORD; David ate and drank in the LORD and so must we. In seed form David grasped the New Testament concept of communion.

Jesus was echoing David’s thoughts when he said, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:53-54).

Response: Heavenly Father, I want to live my life in constant communion with you. I want to live in your presence and eat and drink of you Lord Jesus. I know apart from you I have no good thing. You are my portion and my cup. I give you thanks. Amen.

Your Turn: How are you eating and drinking in God today?

No Room for God?

10 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Psalm 10, Psalms

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Reading: Psalm 10

(Verses 1-11)

Why, LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God (NIV).

2018-03-09

Earl winter snowfall — photo by David Kitz

 Reflection
As I write these thoughts on Psalm 10, outside my window snow is drifting down and ready or not, we are rapidly careening toward a rendezvous with Christmas. Ah, Christmas! What a mangled wreck—what a gross distortion—this celebration of Christ’s birth has become. For many this commercial bonanza is completely void of any spiritual meaning. It is nothing more than a buying and selling frenzy—a pursuit of trinkets signifying nothing.

In this psalm we see the signs of the season. Through clever advertising and marketing schemes we too are hunted down by the top-level merchants of this world. We are caught in the schemes they devise. Rather than being a season where we seek the LORD, we fall into a trap. We can find ourselves boasting about the cravings of our heart. As the Psalmist says, we bless the greedy and in so doing, we revile the LORD.

The words of the Psalmist ring true, “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”

No room for God… In a perverse way it seems rather appropriate. There was no room for God in Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born. No room for God… no room for the Maker and Saviour of the universe! For you and me, it doesn’t have to be that way. While there was no room for God incarnate in Bethlehem, the magi were busy seeking Him. Set your heart to be a God seeker this Christmas season.

Response: Jesus, I seek after you. Open my eyes to see you today. I wait expectantly for you. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you seen Jesus in others? How can you seek God this week?

Big God—Little Me

05 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Psalm 8, Psalms

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Reading:                                        Psalm 8

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.

You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth. (NIV)

 Reflection

There’s something exquisitely beautiful about this psalm. Yes, in it we see the glory of the heavens, the sun, moon and stars—the vast array of heavenly bodies. But there’s more to it than that. This psalm is more than a pretty poetic picture of the heavens.

It’s about perspective. In the grand scheme of things David grasps his true size—his insignificance. Beneath a canopy of stars, he has a transcendent moment—a God moment. He realizes the immensity of God. In the material realm you and I are just a transitory flicker across the face of time. That’s why David asks, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

In the vastness of the universe, what am I but a speck. Why would God even consider me? But He does! That’s the wonder of this psalm, and the wonder of our God. He is mindful of you and your concerns. God has crowned human beings—you and I—with glory and honor. When did that happen you might ask?

Well, it happened at creation. God placed humankind as the rulers of all creation. That’s a huge responsibility, a responsibility we have often failed to fulfill. But God reaffirmed His love and commitment to us at the cross. Jesus considered you so significant that he bled and died for you. Now that’s significance—eternal significance in the face of God’s own Son.

Response: Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe, thank you for considering me. Thank you for being mindful of my daily concerns. I bring them to You. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you had a transcendent moment—a God moment? How did that happen?

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