Tag Archives: Jesus

Listening for the Voice of God

14 Thursday Mar 2024

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.Psalm 130b -365

Reading: Psalm 130:5-8

Father God,
I thank you for your prophetic word
because it points to Jesus.
Lord Jesus,
thank you for laying down your life to redeem me,
and all those who bow
before you in repentance. 
Amen.

Above all,
you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture
came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things.
For prophecy never had its origin in the human will,
but prophets, though human,spoke from God
as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:20-21), NIV)*

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

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Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

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The LORD’s Response

14 Thursday Mar 2024

Posted by in Psalm 130, Psalms

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Today’s Devotion from the Psalms

Reading: Psalm 130:5-8
I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
 I wait for the LORD
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins (NIV). *

img_20220525_2018298

A pilgrimage to the house of God — MacNutt, Saskatchewan — photo by David Kitz

Reflection
Psalm 130 can be divided into three distinct sections: the confessional approach, the wait, and the LORD’s response. In yesterday’s reading, we looked at the confessional approach. The psalmist came before his God and poured out his heart. In desperation he pleaded for mercy and forgiveness. At the same time, he acknowledged the extreme mercy of God. He knows full well that this God forgives the undeserving.

Now, the psalmist waits: “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.”

This is the step that is most frequently missing in our communion with God. We cannot wait; we rush on. We have things to do, people to see, a life to live. We have no time to wait for the LORD’s response. But without waiting, we cannot hear the LORD speaking to our hearts. The rush of life takes over. We do not hear our Savior speak the words of divine pardon. Prayer is reduced to one way communication. We speak into the silence and allow no time for the God of silence to answer back.

But in his time of silence, the psalmist heard from God. In this third section of the psalm, the author is no longer addressing the LORD in prayer. Now he addresses us. The wait is over. God has spoken, and now the psalmist rises to his feet. He has a message from the LORD for us—the Israel of God.

Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.

For Israel, there was a long wait. The promised Messiah was a long time in coming. The centuries slipped by. Generation after generation passed on, but the word of the LORD stood firm. A Redeemer was coming. With an uncanny accuracy the Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of the Christ. Many of those prophetic words are found within the Psalms. The Lord Jesus is our fount of hope—our Redeemer. He is love and the source of unfailing love. It is he who with his blood redeemed us, body, soul, and spirit. In the person of Jesus, God took on human flesh. On the cross he fulfilled these words. “He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.”

Response: Father God, I thank you for your prophetic word because it points to Jesus. Lord Jesus, thank you for laying down your life to redeem me, and all those who bow before you in repentance. Amen.

Your Turn: Are you taking time to listen for the voice of God in prayer? How has the Holy Spirit spoken to you in the past?

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.TheElishaCodeCVR5

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

The God Who Forgives

13 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Psalm 130

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.Psalm 130 -365

Reading: Psalm 130:1-4

Father God,
I thank you for forgiveness.
I have failed you many times,
but you are rich in mercy.
You are a patient God.
Thank you for destroying the record of my sins.
Thank you for the blood Jesus shed
so I could be washed clean.
Amen.

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
(Psalm 103:8-12, NIV)*

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

My Moral Poverty

13 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Psalm 130

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Today’s Devotion from the Psalms

Reading: Psalm 130:1-4
A song of ascents.
Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;
LORD, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
LORD, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you (NIV). *

a tattooed man praying while holding a book

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Reflection
Psalm 130 is a perfect example of a psalm that brings us into the private inner sanctum of communion with God. Here is a portrait of a fallen man—a man on his knees before his Maker, the eternal One. Hear him now as he agonizes in prayer, “Out of the depths I cry out to you, O LORD; O LORD, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.”

The opening lines of this psalm leave little doubt as to what has transpired. The psalmist has failed; he has missed the mark. He has transgressed, yet again. There is an abject poverty of spirit reflected in these words—a poverty that almost makes us cringe.

We do not know what sin, or list of sins has brought the psalmist to this wretched state. The transgression is left unstated. Was it anger, malice, or unbridled lust? Was it pride, greed, or wilful dishonesty? Was this a transgression of the mind, of the tongue, of action or inaction? God knows.

I am always somewhat skeptical of those who claim they could never commit this or that sin. I think we rarely comprehend the depravity of our own hearts. Pushed into wrong circumstances, in the wrong environment, with the wrong peer group, who can plumb the depths to which a man or woman may sink? I can identify with the psalmist. I have added my own pile of dung to this world’s heap of moral filth. I too have found myself in the psalmist’s position, sobbing out these words, “Out of the depths I cry out to you, O LORD; O LORD, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.“

But despite my failings, despite my moral poverty, this great God—this God of holiness—is approachable. He is a God of mercy. The psalmist reminds himself and the LORD of His merciful nature with these words: If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, LORD, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I need daily reminders of God’s forgiveness and mercy. God the moral accountant is also the LORD of forgiveness. No one does forgiveness better than God. When we confess our sins, He destroys the record. What accountant does that?

Response: Father God, I thank you for forgiveness. I have failed you many times, but you are rich in mercy. You are a patient God. Thank you for destroying the record of my sins. Thank you for the blood Jesus shed so I could be washed clean. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you been guilty of digging up the record of your sins—sins that have been forgiven? What do you do to be reminded of God’s mercy and forgiveness?

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

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Are you ready for a journey to the cross?
For a closer look or to purchase click here.

You Are a Chosen People

12 Tuesday Mar 2024

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.Psalm 129 -365

Reading: Psalm 129

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
and protect them for Jesus’ sake.
Amen.

But you are a chosen people,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
God’s special possession,
that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness
into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are the people of God;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
(1 Peter 2:9-10), NIV)*

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

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Lent is here. Easter is approaching.
Are you ready for a journey to the cross?
For a closer look or to purchase click here.

God’s Called and Chosen

12 Tuesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Psalm 129

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Today’s Devotion from the Psalms

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 LORD 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 LORD be on you;
we bless you in the name of the LORD” (NIV). *

img_20220807_2012460

Landestreu Church

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 assume 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? How do stories of suffering and persecution affect you? Is there something you can do to help those in need?

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.TheElishaCodeCVR5

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Blessed to Have Children

11 Monday Mar 2024

Posted by in Psalm 128

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.Psalm 128_1a

Reading: Psalm 128

Father God,
I love my family.
I am so blessed to have children
who love you, Lord.
Watch over them, I pray.
Keep their hearts tender before you.
Help them to daily hear your voice.
Amen.

But from everlasting to everlasting
    the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.
(Psalm 103:17-18, NIV)*

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Psalms Vol 2 Front Print

Working on My Behalf

07 Thursday Mar 2024

Posted by in Psalm 125

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.Psalm 125_2

Reading: Psalm 125

Father God,
I trust in you.
I trust that you are working on my behalf.
Help me to become steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord
(1 Corinthians 15:58, NKJV). 
Amen.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6), NIV)*

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.TheElishaCodeCVR5

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Peace in God’s House

01 Friday Mar 2024

Posted by in Psalm 122

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.Psalm 122_1

Reading: Psalm 122

Father God,
we pray for your peace—
the shalom of God.
May your peace come to Jerusalem,
and to all of Israel,
 and especially to all the followers of your dear son,
Jesus, the living Christ.
Amen.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body
you were called to peace.
And be thankful.
(Colossians 3:15), NIV)*

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.4485 SHARABLE-2

Are you ready for a journey to the cross?
For a closer look or to purchase click here.

The Pilgrims Arrive

01 Friday Mar 2024

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Today’s Devotion from the Psalms

Reading: Psalm 122
A song of ascents. Of David.
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the LORD—
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.
 There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity (NIV). *
Psalm 122_1

Reflection
This third psalm in the Song of Ascents series is a psalm of arrival. The pilgrims have arrived at Jerusalem, the destination of their pilgrimage. The following statement makes it clear that the weary travelers have arrived: Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. That is where the tribes go up—the tribes of the LORD—to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel.

It should be noted that this pilgrimage to Jerusalem was not merely an event for the occasional tourist. As the psalmist states, he came to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. In fact, this pilgrimage to the holy city was required according to the Law of Moses. Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel. I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God (Exodus 34:23-24).

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, frequently made this journey to fulfill the requirements of the Law. The first reference to this pilgrimage is found in the account of the twelve-year-old Jesus remaining in the city after his parents had left to return to Galilee (Luke 2:41-50). His last pilgrimage to celebrate the Passover ended with his crucifixion and resurrection.

With the psalmist we join in praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and peace within the church of God.

Response: Father God, we pray for your peace—the shalom of God. May your peace come to Jerusalem, and to all of Israel, and especially to all the followers of your dear son, Jesus, the living Christ. Amen.

Your Turn: Do you regularly pray for peace and prosperity in the house of the LORD our God? (Psalm 122:9) Take some time to pray now.

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

BGBG_v4.3_150[1818]

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Vol III 2021-07-17 at 8.15.36 AM