Today's Reading: Psalm 69

Our Influence on Others

King David is going through a rough time politically. His “poll numbers are down.” His popularity has been declining because he has made some decisions that were not popular with all the people. In his heart, he feels that his decisions have been consistent with God’s will, but he acknowledges that he is not perfect and that he may not have done everything completely right. In Psalm 69, David is grappling with all of this. He is feeling abandoned by his friends and hated by large numbers of his citizens. He is feeling like the waters of opposition are swirling over his head and his feet are sinking in the deep sludge.

The life of a leader is not always a “bed of roses.” Especially so for one who seeks to honor the Lord and infuse godly principles into his/her decisions as a leader. At times, doing the right thing can seem very lonely. Family, friends, employees, church members, and even whole nations can be soured by a decision (or group of decisions) the leader has made. This was the case for David, and it certainly was the case for our Lord Jesus Christ, whose zeal for God caused Him to be reproached and hated by many. It will be so for any of us who are called to lead others in any capacity.

The key thought in Psalm 69 is David’s concern for the spiritual condition of others. His prayer in verse 6 is a heartfelt request that he not be the cause of others’ shame or dishonor. In the midst of his own struggles, David did not focus on himself, but on others. He did not want his decisions to be a stumbling block to anyone who hopes in God and seeks Him. His desire was that his decisions as a leader would facilitate and encourage worshippers to become closer to God, not further away. “Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,” he prays. And “let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me.” David’s deep prayer was that his actions, however unpopular, would not have a negative influence on anyone seeking the Lord.

This should be the heartfelt attitude of every follower of Christ. All of us are in positions of influence to some degree or another. It should be one of our primary concerns that what we say, or do, or the decisions we make, does not influence another person to stumble in their relationship with Jesus. The Apostle Paul mentions this in 1 Corinthians 8:13, “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” Paul was writing specifically about eating meat that had been offered to idols, but you can substitute other actions in this verse and the principle remains the same: “Therefore, if [anything] makes my brother stumble, I will never [do that thing], lest I make my brother stumble.”

Others will not always agree with you one hundred percent of the time. But they should always find that you are being faithful to, and consistent with God’s will to the best of your ability. As expressed in the song by Steve Green, “O may all who come behind us find us faithful, may the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe.”

 

Today's Reading: Psalms 67 & 68

Father of the Fatherless

What an amazing God we serve! Mighty in power and glorious in majesty while at the same time being tender-hearted and compassionate to our needs. Repeatedly in Scripture, Yahweh is described as a Father to the fatherless and a Protector of widows. “He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.” (Deuteronomy 10:18) “The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.” (Psalm 10:14) “You defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.” (Psalm 82:3)

Although Yahweh is “in His holy habitation,” He is not far from any one of us. Of all the ways the Lord God Almighty could have chosen to relate to humanity, He chose the language of family. He could have described Himself as a benevolent dictator, kind boss, or patient landlord. But instead, He chose the word father. He presents Himself as a Father because we all know what a father should be and do. Even if we did not have earthly fathers who treated us well, we have an intrinsic understanding of what a good father should be. God planted that understanding in our hearts. We all have a need to be loved, cherished, protected, provided for, cheered for, and valued. We all long to have a loving father look into our eyes and say, “I’m proud of you, son/daughter.”  Ideally, an earthly father will meet those needs. But even if he doesn’t, God will. Throughout Scripture, God describes His love for us as that of a caring parent.

God has a special place in His heart for the orphans and fatherless (see: Deuteronomy 24:20; Jeremiah 49:11; James 1:27). He loves to adopt new “kids” into His heavenly family. He loves it when His followers on earth heed the call to foster and/or adopt a child who is fatherless. This is a high calling and God will honor those who step out into the unknown and trust Him to bless such a family!

The Lord offers to fill the role of a Father in the lives of all, especially it seems, those with no father.  As a human father would do, so the Lord invites us to call out to Him when we are in trouble (Psalm 50:15), to cast all our worries on Him (1 Peter 5:7), and to enjoy His company (1 Corinthians 1:9: Psalm 116:1; 1 John 5:14).  He models for us the characteristics He had in mind when He designed fatherhood. Although many times earthly fathers do not live up to the ideal, God promises that, in Him, no one has to be without a perfect Father.

God is not aloof from the needs of people. Nor is He a mean old ogre just waiting to inflict pain on humanity. Our God is tender-hearted and compassionate to the needs of all. The world needs to hear about a God like that! 

 

Today's Reading: Psalms 65 & 66

Don't Get Cozy with Sin

Have you ever been in prayer and suddenly had a disturbing sensation that God simply isn’t listening? Yes, it has happened to all of us. Sadly, for many of us, we just limp along praying the same old prayers, half-hoping those prayers are heard and half-suspecting they are not. One of the reasons God may not be listening is because we’ve allowed iniquity to remain unchallenged in our hearts.

The word “cherished” means: valued; esteemed; treasured. The Hebrew word translated “cherished” or “regard” in Psalm 66:18 literally means “to see” and it carries the idea of seeing something but not acting upon it. Thus, this verse is telling us that seeing iniquity in my heart and doing nothing about it, is a cause of the Lord turning His listening ear away from me. If I have known iniquity was there, or even encouraged it, or if I pretended it wasn’t there, or even loved my iniquity, then God will not – cannot – hear my prayer. The Message* paraphrase puts it like this: “If I had been cozy with evil, the Lord would never have listened.” The idea is this: in order that prayer may be heard, there must be a purpose to forsake all forms of sin. If you long for God to hear your prayers, don’t let iniquity settle down and make itself at home in your heart – kick it out! Deal with it!

“Iniquity” means sin that is an inner act of willful disobedience to God. It refers more to matters of the heart than outward actions. Scripture specifically identifies the following iniquities: bitterness (see Acts 8:23), greed (see Acts 8:18–23), lust (Job 31:1–12), and stubbornness (I Samuel 15:23). Others include anger, clamor, slander, malice, cursing, rudeness, selfishness, irritableness, resentfulness, and jealousy. As human beings with fallen natures, we are all susceptible to committing these sins. But when we do, we must acknowledge, confess, and forsake our sin. We must not allow any of these sins to be welcomed into our hearts. We cannot allow them to take up residence inside of us. Getting cozy with these sins can cause the Lord not to listen to your prayers.

Take a moment right now to get alone with God. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Ask Him to shine His floodlight of truth into the dark spaces of your soul. Do any of these sins dwell there? Have you let these things take up residence inside of you? Have you become cozy with sin? When the Holy Spirit shows you the truth of what is hiding there, be quick to acknowledge, confess, and forsake your sin. “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” [or any other iniquity] springs up and causes trouble” (Hebrews 12:15).

(*© Eugene H. Peterson ; The Message; by NavPress Publishing)

 

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 19

Your Part, God's Part

David and his troops were undergoing some difficult battles. As the clashes became more and more challenging, David’s army leaders (Joab and Abishai) devised an ingenious military strategy – we will do our part and let God do His part. With these words, they acknowledged that victory comes only when we diligently use the strength we have, while we let the LORD use His strength to bring the victory. They acknowledged that they were responsible for their personal efforts, but God was responsible for the results.

This is a lesson we must all learn – that God is responsible for the outcome. We are to diligently serve Him and use our spiritual gifts to serve the Body of Christ – but it is up to Him how things turn out. This doesn’t mean you don’t have a part to play. You do! His will is for you is to be on the spiritual front lines, using your strength to support the cause of Christ. We are repeatedly called to take action in our Christian walk. Psalm 2:11 says, " Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling." Romans 12:11 exhorts us to, “Not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” These are commands for each of us to take action. We are not called to sit on the sidelines and watch God win the game. We are called to “get off the bench” use the skills and strength that we have. But, at the same time, we must let God decide the outcome.

We must learn to let the LORD do what seems good to Him. He has given you certain spiritual gifts and you must discover those gifts and use them with all of your strength to serve the Lord. “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” (Romans 12:6)  Is your gift prophecy? Then prophesy in proportion to your faith. Is your gift serving? Then serve others with all your heart. Is your gift teaching? Then diligently hand out the truth of God to others through your teaching. Whatever your gift may be, “I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6).  But always remember – God is responsible for the outcome. Two individuals may both have the gift of evangelism - God may use one to preach in giant stadiums to thousands of people, while at the same time using the other to quietly lead his coworker to Christ. The results are not your responsibility – they are His!

So, dear follower of Christ, don’t focus on the numbers. Don’t focus on the outcomes. You have your part. God has His part. Your part is to focus on diligently using your skills and strength to do the task the Lord has set before you. Use your strength for His people and His kingdom and His purposes, and may the LORD do what seems good to Him.

 

Today's Reading: Psalms 10, 60, 75, & 76

Dealing With Defeat

It can be hard to come back from defeat. Being defeated can have a domino effect in our minds. As we become overly-focused on our failure, our hearts and minds can go from simply “licking our wounds” to deeper discouragement and, if left unchecked, can spiral into full blown depression and, in some cases, feeling abandoned by God. Experiencing defeat is never easy. It can make us feel like we don’t even want to try again.

Here in Psalm 60, King David and his troops had undergone a series of defeats at the hands of enemy armies. David was feeling dejected and abandoned by God. He begins to wonder if God is angry with him and has rejected him. As he goes through a list of how he feels about experiencing defeat, you can sense that coming back from this could be difficult for him. Some of his feelings include: You have rejected us; You have broken our defenses; You have been angry; You have made your people see hard things. David’s complaints express his feelings of anxiety and dejection. He is having a very hard time with defeat.

But David doesn’t stop there. Thankfully, as he expresses his sorrow at being defeated, he simultaneously reminds himself that God is not finished with him and Israel, and he will once again experience victory. Interspersed with his complaints, we find prayers of faith: Oh, restore us; May your beloved ones be delivered; Give salvation by your right hand; Oh, grant us help against the foe. David wisely took his defeat to God and left it at His feet. In spite of his feelings of defeat and discouragement, he knew in his heart-of-hearts that the Lord would never abandon him. You can sense his heart and mind coming around from a place of dark discouragement back to optimism and faith in God.

David concludes this Psalm with these faith-filled words, “With God we shall do valiantly, it is He who will tread down our foes.” He wisely turned his eyes off of his defeat, stopped licking his wounds, and once again began to trust fully in God and His promises. This provides for us an example to follow when we experience defeat in our lives. We must not let our minds travel to dark places and discouragement. We, like David, must turn our eyes off of our hard defeat and back onto our Mighty God.

Are you having a hard time after experiencing defeat in your Christian walk? Do like David and turn your eyes off of the failure – stop trying to analyze it. Remember that God is not finished with you and He will bring victory. Stay the course! Try again, dear follower of Christ. Try again! Trust in Him to tread down your foes.

Today's Reading: Psalm 50 & 53

Commanded to Call Upon Him

“I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications.” (Psalm 116:1) The Lord wants to hear from us. He invites us to pray to Him without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He promises to hear us when we pray – “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” (1 John 5:14) “As for me, I call to God … and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:16-17). In today’s key verse, we are exhorted by God, Himself, to call upon Him.

“Call upon me in the day of trouble.” The first part of today’s verse is a command from God to call on Him when we are in trouble. We certainly shouldn’t pray only when trouble comes, but according to this command, we should definitely pray when we are in times of trouble or affliction. God commands it. Don’t rely on your own ingenuity or your own determination to deliver yourself. Call upon Him and watch Him work! Are you having trouble or trials today? Call upon Him!

“I will deliver you.” The second part is an amazing promise God makes to us. If we call on Him, He will deliver us. He gives no limits as to how often we can pray. He only gives us His promise to answer. He doesn’t specify how He will deliver us, and it may not always be in the way we wish for. Sometimes He delivers us “out of” our trouble, and sometimes He delivers us “in the midst of” trouble. But, whatever His method, His promise is always, “I will deliver you.”

“And you shall glorify Me.” The third part of this verse indicates the real reason for prayer in the grand overarching plan of heaven. Prayer is not so much the mechanism we use to get rescued, as it is a means of displaying God and His glory to the watching world. When God provides, we may be tempted to forget Him and think we have taken care of our problem ourselves. But when we pray and He answers, we must recognize His hand of provision and be careful to honor (glorify) Him. We rob God of honor and fail to glorify Him when we don’t recognize that He was the one who rescued and provided for us.

Do you want your life to glorify God? To bring Him fame and honor? To influence a lost world with His light? Then pray dear Christian. Tell Him your troubles. Tell Him your afflictions. Call upon Him and He will deliver you. And when He does, a watching world will hear of His glory and power and grace and forgiveness!

 

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 18

Dedicating to the Lord

After winning decisive victories against Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek, King David had stockpiled a large collection of the spoils of war. These included all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze. It was customary in those days for the kings of victor nations to keep these spoils of war as a means of accumulating wealth for himself. Having a great stockpile of these items represented the grandness of the king’s majesty. As the collection grew, so did the king’s notoriety and renown among his citizens and neighboring nations.

None of these customs mattered to King David. He wasn’t interested in building his own wealth and fame. What mattered to him was building the fame of Yahweh. So, David took the articles of gold, silver, and bronze and dedicated them to the Lord. The Hebrew word “dedicated” in verse 11 means to set apart; to consecrate; to devote as holy. David literally separated these items from his own “bank account” and deposited them in the Lord’s “account.” By doing so, David was choosing to benefit his King and Lord rather than selfishly benefitting himself.

Dedicating something to the Lord means surrendering your personal control and use of an item (or person) and handing over control and use to God. For the follower of Christ, this often means giving up something of great worth and value. We must sacrifice what is dear to us. Perhaps, like David, it involves giving God control of our wealth and fame. Or, perhaps dedicating our homes and workplaces to Him. Or, as we see many times in the Bible, dedicating our children unto the Lord. Ultimately, we are told to “present our bodies to God as living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1). This is the action by which we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.

It is important to note that dedicating something to the Lord is a voluntary act on your part. God never forces you to surrender anything or anyone to Him. Because of God’s great mercy, we are compelled to offer ourselves to Him as a way of worship – to offer our bodies to God for service. Every Christian should have a time in their life when they take this important step of presenting their body to God.

What is God calling you to hand over to Him today? Is it your bank account? Or your job? Or your relationship? Or your newborn child? Or your body in service to Him? Whatever it is, God will honor your gift and return blessings to you in “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over” (Luke 6:38). The more you give, the more comes back to you, because God is the Greatest Giver in the universe, and He won't let you outgive Him.