365 Reflections

We have lost sight of the judgment of God today. Augustine said "God made us in his image and we have returned the favor casting Him in our image."  God is not what we want Him to be. He is the judge of all the earth and sees every deed and knows every heart. “Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. (Psalm 50:5, 6) In Psalm 50, God calls his people to account for themselves. There are three groups He addresses. The ritualistic worshiper, the fake worshiper, and the true worshiper. The ritualistic worshiper: "I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.  “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the...

To live in pride is to live like a animal. Psalm 49:12 (ESV) Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. The Psalmist calls us to examine life in the light of our brevity and purpose. Our purpose is to know God, yet some of us spend our whole lives trying to know riches and power.  Psalm 49:10–11 (ESV) For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. There is a story of a man who was granted one wish. So he wished for a copy of the Wall Street Journal one year in advance. He was about to go to business with his new found insight and make a fortune, but he as he looked through the pages he saw his own name and picture in the Obituaries. They called him a successful financial tycoon, but for him it was all over before it started.  We are surr...

The Psalmist describes the habitation of God as a city. Not some enigmatic place or some ethereal realm. There is an eternal city of God. Psalm 48:1–2 (ESV) Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. When you think of a city you think of it's order and it's functionality. You think of it's great contribution of art and science and innovation. You think of it's dynamics to make life work for many many people. You think of the planning and coordination that has to take place in a city to make it work. This is the image of our God in the Psalm. He is a God of order and elevation and coordination. He is a God who brings many from afar and locates them in a new city. The city of our God. The Psalm calls us to contemplate the city of our God: Psalm 48:12–14 (ESV) Walk about Zion, go around her, number...

The Psalms present us with the spectrum of worship expressions. Just a few verses before Psalm 47, the instruction was for stillness and silences. Psalm 46:10 (ESV) “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Now Psalm 47 opens: Psalm 47:1 (ESV) Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! Why shouldn't we shout? We have an awesome King who rules and reigns. He is truly Lord of all and over all. Too many of God's people side with one end of the spectrum. They are always quiet or they are always loud. Why not both? Life presents us with many ranges of emotions and experiences. But we should never respond to God only how we are comfortable. Sometimes we need to do what may not come natural, whether it be shouting or silence. The truth is we all fall somewhere in the comfy middle between silence and shouting. I know for me, to sit silently before the Lord seems like an impossibility. ...

Psalm 46:1 (ESV)  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Who doesn't love this Psalm. It presents us with three dimensions of the calm the Lord our God offers. First, in the face of cataclysmic disaster God is our calm: Psalm 46:2–3 (ESV) Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah We can come to the "river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High." Our world is full of things we cannot control. But in our God we find refuge and strength for it all. We do not find escape. Sometimes we will experience trouble. But God is "present help in trouble." Second, in the face of evil kingdoms in this world, God is our calm: Psalm 46:6 (ESV)  The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. Why should we worry who i...

You cannot love Jesus and not love His bride... the Church. Jesus died for the Church, loves the Church, cleanses the Church, and is perfecting the Church. He is praying for the Church, He is calling His Church, He is coming for His Church. If Jesus cares this much for the Church, then so should everyone who dares claim to follow Him. Psalm 45 is a Royal Wedding song about the King and His bride coming together. But theologically, it's the Lord and the Church coming together. And the writer is STIRRED in his heart for both the Lord, and His Bride the Church. Psalm 45:1 (ESV) My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. Then He talks about the Groom: Psalm 45:2–3 (ESV) You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. 3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty! It's wonderful to love the L...

Psalm 44 is a cyclical Psalm. It begins with God's great deeds of old on behalf of His people. The Psalmists knows of them but has not yet experienced them. Psalm 44:1–3 (ESV) O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: 2 you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; 3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them. Then he speaks about his trust in the Lord... Psalm 44:4–8 (ESV)  You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! 5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. 6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. 7 But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. 8 In God we have boasted continually, an...