Posts Tagged ‘Psalm’

Ever get frustrated in your spiritual growth?  Ever feel like you will never overcome certain things?  The question I constantly wrestle with is this:  How do I  ”grow” as a Christ follower?  Psalm 1 is always a great help to me.  In this Psalm we see that we have 2 options.

• Option 1:  try to grow ourselves.  To “be” good…to “do” good…to produce ourselves…to set up rules and regulations and disciplines in our lives all for the furthering of our walk with Jesus.
• Option 2:  Allow the Word of God through the Spirit of God to do God’s Work of transformation, sanctification and growth.  To not try ourselves to grow ourselves, to change ourselves, to take the wheel and take control of ourselves.

Psalms 1 is so helpful.  The Word of God is one of the places that God uses to grow and transform and sactify us.  The Psalmist tells us that we’ll be like a “tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaves does not wither.”  How do we become like this tree?  We delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on his law day and night.

You see, the Word of God does the Work of God.  That’s what the Psalmist tells us.  Get in the Word, and the Word will convict, transform, change, encourage, and do the Work of God on our hearts and in our lives.  For me, when I’m struggling the most in my Christ-following journey it’s usually because I’m not delighting in the Word and meditating on His Word.

Let the Word of God do the Work of God.  How can you meditate and delight in God’s Word today…this week?

Dig Deeper,

CD

I woke up this morning to a mid-50′s Fahrenheit day!  It’s the first one since probably February or March in Tampa, and how grateful I am for these days.  Growing up in ‘Bama I was fortunate to taste all 4 seasons that the Creator God fashioned.  But since moving to Tampa I’ve not been able to experience must of the seasonal changes and differences.

I’ve been reminded today, as it is 68 degrees according to my iPhone, that God is in charge of all things and that nothing is too big for him to change, that nothing is too big for him to oversee and manage and handle.  In fact, I’ve been reminded that all things are goverened by God, and allowed by God, and ordained by God, and fashioned for the praise of God.  Even the weather.  So today, on this mid-50′s Fahrenheit day, I’m especially aware of God in charge of His earth in a way that brings him great glory.

“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.  He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.  Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” (Psalm 33:6-8, ESV)

The Psalmist has clear purpose in writing this.  Here’s a couple of insights to these 2 verses:

1. God’s Word is Powerful.  His word created the heavens.  He didn’t have to go on a construction project to do so.  He simply spoke.  Heavens were made.  His breath.  Stars appeared.  God is above it all!
2. God’s reach is great!  His wing span is big enough to gather the waters and the deeps to put in his storehouse.  He can spread his arms across galaxies!  He can reach even us, sinful people, far from him!
3. God’s purpose in creation is that world will be in awe of Him!  Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!  He is after the praise of all peoples.  It is pompous and idolistic to NOT praise Him.  No one else can do what GOd alone can do.  No one else is who God is.  He demands and deserves the praises of all people – all the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world.

What a day yesterday was for me as we studied Psalm 121 together.  I didn’t get half-way through it in the message, because the first 3 verses are absolutely amazing.

We ran across a man who had an important decision to make – really, THE foundational decision of his life.  We see ourselves wrapped up in this man, as well.

Who was this man in Psalm 121?  We don’t know.  He didn’t include his name as he penned the Psalm.  But what we do know about him is that he is a man who is in need of help of some sort.  Protection?  Security?  Financial? Relational?  Spiritual?  Physical?  We just don’t know what he was up against in his life, but we do konw that he was up against something.  And he wrote a Psalm about it.

What decision did this man need to make?  Here’s where this man lived.  He lived between a choice to make in his need for help.  ”I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  Who would he choose to turn to for help? In what would he base his need for help?  Where would he turn?

He chooses to turn to the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.  This is the most important decision he made in his life up until this point, more important than who he marries, what job he takes, or anything else.  And it’s the most important decision we’ll ever make.  Who will we turn to in our times of need for help?

We have 2 options:

1. We can turn to idols
2. We can turn to God

I want to give us some handles this week to investigate how we know if we’re turning to idols.  ”An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”  (Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods).

Today, ask yourself  this question as we go “idol hunting:”  “What do you enjoy daydreaming about?  What occupies your mind when you have nothing else to think about?  Archbishop William Temple once said, ‘Your religion is what you do with your solitude.’  In other words, the true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention.” (Keller, Counterfeit Gods).

Dig Deeper and let God illuminate any idols and break those idols!

PC