A stronghold in times of trouble!

Psalm 9:9-10  The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. 

I can remember as a young boy after I did something that I should not have done, my brother would quickly report, "you are in trouble!"  I look back on those times and think if only my troubles were that simple today.  Most of those troubles could be remedied by a simple heart felt “I am sorry” or by being my brother’s servant for the day so he would not tell my parents.  Either way, the troubles were simple and really not very troublesome.  However, as life continues we usually find ourselves in troubles that are much more difficult and life consuming.  It is during those times that we must pause and remind ourselves that we are pursued by a loving and gracious God who wants to be our STRONGHOLD.  What a powerful description of our God… a stronghold, a place of refuge, an inaccessible secure place where you know that He is going to take care of everything and where He will be your all sufficient God giving you all grace at all times in every situation so that you may abound in Him through that trouble.  Trust God as your stronghold.  He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

Father, pursue us in our times of trouble.  Seek us and let us know that You are our stronghold.  When we do not want Your help please let us be shaken with the promise that you do not forsake your children who put their trust in you.  Let Your perfect Holy Spirit that dwells in us be active in us forever reminding us that You are always about us as our stronghold through the power of Jesus Christ.  Let us look to Jesus as the guarantee of our eternal standing as our stronghold.  We trust in You, Amen.

The goal of all things in each moment everywhere...

Psalm 8:1  O LORD our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

What a majestic name! "O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth."  Yahweh, is the name that God calls Himself which means "I am" or the self existent one - the sovereign creator God (Exodus 3:14).  God calls Himself this to communicate to us that there is no place in all the universe where He is not Yahweh—where He is not the absolute One. He wants us to know, embrace and rest in the reality that He is everywhere and that everything depends absolutely on Him and that He has no viable opponents anywhere.  He wants us to enjoy knowing that everything is being sustained by Him and that He is above all things everywhere.  He wants us to walk in the understanding that He is the goal of all things in each moment.  So, let us walk in each moment rejoicing in the truth of Romans: 31-32 - What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 

Dear Yahweh God, would You please dwell in our hearts and slow our restless hearts enough to pause and see Your majesty.  Let us see Your majestic sovereign fingers at work in this universe through Your creation and through all of the blessings that You pour upon us in grace after grace after grace.  Let us be strengthened and emboldened as we trust in Your position as Yahweh God and then let Your peace and joy sustain us as You lead us in embracing that You are the goal of all that we do and all that we are.  LORD, if You are for us nobody can be against us - let us live in this understanding faithfully in Jesus Christ, Amen.

We worship a LORD who wants our words, meditations and cries...

Psalm 5:1-2  Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.

As we try to overcome the burdens of yesterday’s sin and disappointments, or we celebrate yesterday’s joys, and blessings; it is good to remember that we are blessed with the privilege to come before the Creator of the universe, who is also our Redeemer and personal Savior to pray to boldly, confidently and frequently.  Our Creator God asks us to personally bring our needs, distresses, and praises to Him.  What an amazing act of mercy towards us as He gives us access to unlimited power and strength.  We have the great privilege to come before Him in prayer knowing that He cares for us.  It is marvelous to see how David went about praying in the book of Psalms.  First, David used words (5:1).  Next, he also prayed not using any words but expressing the meditations (5:1) of his heart and mind.  Meditations are simply that, the thoughts of your heart and soul.  Our meditations really define who we are.  No matter what service we perform for God, or what we appear to be to others, the important thing is the purity of our meditations of our heart.  Have we ever asked our Loving God to “consider our mediations?”  Just that thought makes me a little uneasy.  However, we know that at certain times David had great sin in his life and yet he gave God those meditations.   I am sure that is when David’s meditations then became times of “crying” (5:2) out to God verbally and also from within his heart.  A cry to God is usually generated from a heart that is desperate yet humbled.  The heart that is crying out is pleading for mercy while having complete faith in God as having the resources and the power to answer our cries.  Church let us boldly come to the Lord with our words, mediations and cries knowing that He hears us.

Father, give us your Church a heart that pursue You above all else.  And while pursuing You with our entire heart we confidently give You all of our meditations knowing that You care about those meditations and that You want to have access to those meditations and want to be Lord over those meditations.  Lord when our mediations are painful, distressed and are producing fears or unrighteousness we cry out to You for your help to cleanse us from all unrighteousness through your Son Jesus Christ.

"no longer live for themselves..."

2 Corinthians 5:15  "...and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised." 

Church, think about how sin makes us want to live "for ourselves" in our own self-defined world instead of for Christ.  Jesus has come so that we would escape our own world seeking to fulfill our own will.  Jesus has intended for us to live in a world that transcends our will and desires to live in God's will which is for the sake of Christ and others.  Pursuing God's will comes with a promise that it is a will that is "good, acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2).  Let us be a people who are not conformed to this world by following our own will but is transformed by God's will, His good, acceptable and perfect will.

Father, You transform us, You have brought us into new life, You have given us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all things and brings to our remembrance all that You have said in Christ.  Empower Your Spirit within us to release us to live for You in our relationships with all of our neighbors starting with our own families.  Transform us through the leadership of your Spirit who guides us into all Truth.  Lead us away from seeking a life pursuing our own desires replacing that desire to seek and to savor knowing Your will. In Jesus name, Amen. 

He is our SHIELD, our GLORY, and the LIFTER of our head...

Psalm 3:3-4 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.

GCT as we start a new week with all of the upcoming opportunities before us that create fear and anxiety, as we discussed in David's life yesterday in 2 Samuel 11-16, let us  have hearts that are continually in a position of "crying out to the Lord."  Let "crying out to the Lord" be a constant habit.  Trusting that our Father who has created this world comes along side of us and lifts our head when our hearts are heavy and our heads cast down.  He comes along side of us in our troubles and our griefs and raises our head and our hearts to our former happy and joyful position.  He is our shield and our glory.

Dear Father, You know our hearts, You see when our hearts and our heads are cast down.  Father draw us to yourself and let your Spirit move within us to bring our fears, anxieties, troubles and griefs to You.  Let us experience spiritually and emotionally you lifting our heads while you lift our hearts.  Remind us of how your Son, Jesus Christ, has broken down the wall of separation once and for all so that we can know Your loving, glorious, hand that lifts us up and shields us in Your glory. Amen.

Like a tree...

Psalm 1:2-3 ...his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

As one who delights in God's Word and meditates on it day and night great things are promised by God.  You will be like a tree... isn't that encouraging.  Actually, let's take a moment to think about this simile.  This tree that we are compared to has been planted next to streams of water.  These streams of water are the streams of Living Water, Jesus Christ (John 4:14).  God takes us and plants us next to Jesus for nourishment.  We are taken by our loving and caring God who is a perfect arborist and planted in the perfect location, next to Christ, where He can take care of us, prune us, watch over us and nourish us.  This nourishment today is accomplished by the meditating and delighting in His written Word.  Because the streams of Living Water is Christ they never stop flowing and so our leaf never withers.  The Lord gives us never ending nourishment through streams of living water which is His Living Word, Jesus Christ (John 4:14).  As we delight and meditate upon Jesus, the Living Word, through the written Word day and night we flourish.  Our roots grow deep and our branches and limbs grow tall producing fruit.  The Word of God gives us nourishment as we read and delight in it.  Yes, there will be storms that come that bend our branches and knock down some limbs but Christ flowing through us will keep us planted and will produce fruit in its season.  

Father lead us into a desire to continually delight in Your Word.  Let us experience Your promise of being nourished by Christ and His streams of living water daily as we meditate and delight on these streams flowing from Your Word.  Grow the roots of our faith deep.  As we may experience the withering of our leaves let us return to Your LIving Word for divine life giving nourishment.  Produce great fruit from our branches as we abide in You and Your streams of Living Water.  Let us understand Your blessing of approval and happiness as we live delighting in You.  Thank you for making all of this possible through Your Son Jesus Christ who is Your incarnate Living Word. In Jesus name, Amen.

I

Psalm 1:1-3  Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 

GCT let DELIGHT characterize our study of God's Word. Let us read God's Word and rejoice in what is read.  God's primary agenda in the giving of his law is our supreme delight.  God wants us to live in a heightened awareness of His revelation of Himself. Unfortunately, sin numbs our souls to His presence.  Let us strive to remember that every commandment in Scripture, every teaching, every prohibition and guideline is lovingly designed to lead us away from what otherwise might spoil our appetite for God.  Let us delight in God's Word.

Father, you have given us the perfect revelation of yourself in your Word and Jesus Christ.   Remind us as we open your Word that you have given us each word for our delight.  Remove from us Lord anything that decreases our delight in Your Word.  Convict us of the sin in our life that spoils our appetite for You and Your Word.  Thank you for Son Jesus Christ who has given us a living example of what your Word looks like lived out in complete obedience.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Psalm 32

Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against who the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 

GCT: As a believer who pursues righteousness you are blessed!  Your transgression is forgiven. You are now blessed and forever shall be blessed. No matter how poor, or sick, or sorrowful you may be today, you are blessed in every way. Forgiving mercy is the greatest gift in the world, for it is the only absolute way to happiness.

Father, give us a greater glimpse of the blessing by which you have blessed us.  You have pardoned all of our sins and look upon us with absolute approval through your Son Jesus Christ.  Thank you for Jesus and His sacrifice that has made this blessing possible for us.  Let us live a life that radiates this blessing.  Let us embrace the promise of happiness that is attached to your eternal approval of us.  In Jesus name, Amen.