lovingkindness

Psalms 138-139 – Day 1

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Nobody Knows Me Better.

“The Lord will work out his plans for my life — for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.” – Psalm 138:8 NLT

There are times when I don’t even know myself. I do and say things that surprise even me. I can never know for sure how I will react to a given situation. I may respond in calmness and patience one day, then explode in anger and impatience the next. I have a limited understanding of what motivates me and why I act the way I do. Sometimes words come out of my mouth that catch me off guard. I can be disappointed in my own response to people and circumstances. There are those moments when I can appear as a stranger – even to myself.

But God knows me. He knows me better than I know myself. David understood this unbelievable characteristic about God. He knew that God was all-knowing, all-powerful, and always present. He knew that God was always there, and that God knew every single detail of his life, including what he was thinking and what he was going to say, even before the words came out of his mouth. David also understood that God had a plan for his life and that God was working that plan each and every day – regardless of what David’s circumstances might have looked like. All of this news about God can be both encouraging and scary. The fact that God knows everything there is to know about us can be a bit intimidating or we can find it comforting. David was prone to the latter. He understood that along with God’s divine attributes of omniscience (He knows everything), omnipotence (He is all-powerful), and omnipresence (He is everywhere at once), God was also all-loving, completely faithful, and a God who keeps all of His promises all of the time. So the fact that God knew all of David’s thoughts didn’t scare him, it comforted him. David was able to say, “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me” (Psalm 139:1 NLT). That thought caused David to say, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand” (Psalm 139:6 NLT). David might not have fully comprehended the reality of God’s all-knowing, all-powerful presence in his life, he DID appreciate it. David knew that God had created him – he was a byproduct of God’s imagination and creative capabilities. He was not a mistake or an act of chance. “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:16 NLT). What an amazing thought.

This understanding of God’s intimate relationship with him caused David to invite God to do something that for many of us sounds a bit risky. It sounds like an invitation that could end up producing some less-than-satisfactory results. But keep in mind, David knew that God loved him and had a plan for his life. He trusted God. There was nothing that God did not know about his life. There was nothing that David thought or did that was hidden from God. So he asked God to “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 1139:23-24 NLT). David was asking God to reveal to him what only God knew about him. David was asking God to show him things about his life he was incapable of seeing or even knowing. As men, we can’t really know our hearts. He can’t fully understand our motives. We are blinded by pride and self-righteousness, and we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are really better than we are. So David goes to the one source that can see past the facade and look into the inner recesses of our hearts. He asks God, the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-loving God to do an MRI of his life and reveal the results. David knew that God loved him and had a plan for his life. But David also knew that he was a man who was prone to sin. He knew his heart was not to be trusted. He knew that he was incapable of really knowing what was going on in his heart. So he asked God to examine, test, and prove him. He asked God to point out anything and everything that was an offense to Him. Scary? Yes. Risky? Not really. David was simply learning what God already knew. David was tapping into God’s limitless understanding and relying on God’s unfailing love for him.

Father, You love me. And what’s amazing is that You love me even though You know everything there is to know about me. There is nothing I can hide from You. I can’t fool you with my pious activities or acts of religious pretense. I can’t fake faith in front of You. You know me just as I am and yet You love me anyway. Give me the heart of David, that I might ask You to search me, know my heart, test me, know the cause of all my anxious thoughts, and point out everything in my life that offends You. The sooner I see the truth about myself, the sooner I can confess my sins and get back on Your path for my life. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Psalm 103 – Day 2

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Plenty Of Reasons To Praise Him.
(Based on Psalm 103)

I will bless the Lord from the depths of my very being,
I will praise Him for His matchless reputation.
I will bless Him and not forget all He has done for me.
He forgives all my sins and heals me when I am sick,
He pays my way out of the pit, and crowns me with love and compassion,
He provides me with good things to eat and renews my strength so that I soar like an eagle,
The Lord always does what is righteous and provides justice for the oppressed,
Moses got to experience the character of God, so did the people of Israel,
They discovered that the Lord is compassionate, gracious, patient and never runs out of mercy.
He will not always accuse of our sins or remain angry with us forever,
He hasn’t done to us what we deserved or rewarded us in keeping with our sins,
Instead, He has shown unbounding, unlimited mercy to those of us who fear Him.
He has removed the guilt of our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.
He shows compassion on those who hear Him like a father shows compassion on his children.
He knows everything about us and understands that we are little more than dust.
To God, our lifetimes are like grass, we flourish for a time like a flower in a field,
Then the wind blows it away, and no one can even remember where it was in the first place.
But the Lord constantly and consistently shows mercy to those who fear Him,
And the generations that follow them get to experience His righteousness –
As long as they keep His covenants and obey His commands.
The Lord reigns on His throne from heaven and rules over everything and everyone,
Even angels, in all their supernatural strength, praise the Lord, obeying His commands
And doing everything that He says.
Praise Him, all who are His warriors, carrying out His desires.
Let everything and everyone He has made in every sphere of His kingdom praise Him!

Psalm 103 – Day 1

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Praise the Lord!

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” – Psalm 103:2 NLT

Gratefulness to God begins with an awareness of all that He has done for us. Failure to recognize God’s activity in our lives makes it extremely unlikely that we will be grateful. It’s hard to praise Him for all that He has done for us if we don’t recognize it to begin with. In this Psalm, David seems to be reminding himself of God’s daily activities in his life. He even says, “May I never forget the good things he does for me” (Psalm 103:2b NLT). Then he goes on to list all those “good things:”

  • He forgives all my sins
  • He heals all my diseases
  • He redeems me from death
  • He crowns me with love and tender mercies
  • He fills my life with good things
  • He renews my youth
  • He gives righteousness and justice
  • He is compassionate and merciful
  • He is slow to get angry
  • He is filled with unfailing love
  • He will not constantly accuse us
  • He doesn’t remain angry with us forever
  • He doesn’t punish us for all our sins
  • He doesn’t deal harshly with us, as we deserve
  • He shows us unfailing love that is immeasurable and unlimited
  • He has removed our sins as for as the east is from the west
  • He treats us like a father would his children
  • He is tender and compassionate
  • He knows and understands our weaknesses
  • His love for us remains forever
  • He rules over everything

That’s a pretty extensive list, and it is not unique to David. Every single one of these “good things” are available to us as His children. They are just as true of my relationship with God as they were of David. The problem is that we don’t tend to think about them. Instead, we dwell on all those things we believe God has failed to do for us. We concentrate on what we believe to be are unanswered prayers and unmet expectations. We may have some specific need we want addressed and, in our estimation, God has failed to deal with it adequately. In the meantime, we fail to recognize and appreciate His unfailing love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace He extends to us day after day – like clockwork.

One of the most amazing realizations David expresses in this Psalm is found in verse 10. The NET Bible translates it this way: “He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;  he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.” This is another way of looking at God’s incredible mercy and grace. You see, mercy is God not giving you what you deserve (withheld punishment), and grace is God giving you what you don’t deserve (unmerited favor). David understood that God had every right as God to deal with us harshly due to the sin in our lives, but He chose to show mercy instead. Rather than give us what we deserve, God gives us what we don’t deserve – His grace. Until we come to grips with the reality of that statement, we will never truly praise God for who He is and what He has done. Christ’s death on the cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love and grace. His death made possible our forgiveness. His sacrifice allowed God to withhold our punishment because in dying in our place, Christ paid our debt in full. The righteous wrath of God was satisfied once and for all. As a result, God has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. We no longer stand before God as guilty and condemned, but as forgiven and redeemed. He sees us as righteous and holy.

So if we think about it, we have just as much to be grateful for as David did – even more. We have enjoyed the benefit of Christ’s sacrificial, substitutionary death on the cross. So, like David, we should be able to say, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name” (Psalm 103:1 NLT).

Father, the good things You have done for me are real and deserving of my gratitude and praise. I should be praising You for who You are and all that You have done and continue to do on a daily basis. Open my eyes and help me see Your activity in and around my life. Give me an increasing awareness of Your grace and mercy so that I will praise You more. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Psalm 70 – Day 2

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I Need You!
(Based on Psalm 70)

Hurry up, O God, and rescue me!
Hurry up and help me, Lord!
Disappoint and embarrass all those who seek my life.
Turn back and humiliate all those who desire to hurt me.
Let all those who laugh at me be the rejection of their own shame.
But let everyone who seeks You rejoice and be glad,
And let all those who love and long for Your salvation be able to say,
“Our God is great!”
As for me, I am poor and in great need,
So hurry God, because You’re my only help and salvation.
Do wait another minute!

Psalm 69 – Day 2

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It’s Never So Bad That God Can’t Do Good.
(Based on Psalm 69)

Save me, O God,
For the waters of difficulty are flooding my soul.
It’s like I am sinking into a bottomless mud pit,
I find myself in deep waters that flow over my head.
I have been calling for help so long my throat hurts and I am exhausted,
Even my eyes grow weary looking for your salvation to come.
It seems like there are more people who hate me without cause
Than there are hairs on my head.
These enemies who would destroy me, even though I don’t deserve it,
They make me pay back a debt I never owed.
O God, You know every foolish thing I’ve ever done,
And none of my sins are hidden from You.
Don’t let all those who hope in and wait on You be disappointed because of me,
Don’t let those who seek You be ashamed because of me.
For it’s because of You that I suffer all this contempt,
It is for Your sake that I am disgraced.
I am like a stranger to those who I used to call friends,
And a foreigner to my own family.
My unbridled love for Your house has ended up devouring me,
And all the scorn they have for You is now directed at me.
Even when I cry and fast, all I get is insults.
I mourn my circumstances, and they ridicule me.
The well-respected gossip about me,
While the drunks make up songs about me.
But as for me, I pray to You and ask that Your answer come at a favorable time,
Show me mercy, answer me by showing me Your salvation.
Rescue me out of the mud and don’t let me sink any further.
Deliver me out of the deep water, from those who hate me without cause.
Don’t let the waters of adversity overcome me,
Don’t let me be swallowed up or sink down.
Hear me, O God, because of Your love,
Turn to me and rescue me out of Your great compassion.
Don’t turn Your face away from Your servant,
I am in trouble; hear me and answer quickly.
Draw near to my soul and deliver it,
Redeem it, and rescue me from my enemies.
You understand full well all that I am going through,
The insults, reproach, shame and dishonor.
You’re very familiar with all my enemies, because they are Yours, too.
I am brokenhearted because of the constant scorn,
My soul is sick, and I long for someone to show me pity.
I long for compassion, but there in none coming.
Instead, they feed me a steady diet of venom,
They give me vinegar to drink.
May what they serve up to me become a trap for them.
And may all they hoped to gain from this turn against them.
Blind their eyes, let them shake with fear.
Pour out Your divine judgment on them;
Let them experience Your just anger.
May their homes become desolate and their tents empty.
For they take joy in harassing the one You have chosen to discipline,
And they gossip about the one You have punished.
Repay them to the same degree they have paid me,
Don’t let any of them enjoy Your salvation.
Don’t let their names be written in the Book of Life, blot them out.
But I am poor and in pain, so let Your salvation deliver me.
When You do, I will praise You in song and give You thanks,
Which will please You more than any sacrifice I could make.
Others who are weak and powerless will see this and be glad,
And they will be encouraged to seek You as well.
For You hear those in need and do not ignore those imprisoned by pain.
Let heaven and earth praise You, the oceans and everything in them.
For You will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
So that Your people can live there and call it their permanent possession.
The descendants of Your servants will inherit it,
And all those who love Your name will live there.

Psalm 67 – Day 2

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Making His Ways Known.
(Based on Psalm 67)

God, I ask You to show mercy on us and bless us,
To look down on us and show us Your favor.
That the world might see Your true character as You work through us,
Your salvation revealed to a watching world.
Cause the nations of the world to confess Your greatness, O God,
Give them plenty of reasons to praise You.
Cause the people of the world to rejoice,
Shouting joyfully as they see You work among them.
For You judge righteously, leading and guiding all those who live on the earth.
Give Your people cause to praise You, O God,
Give them plenty of reasons to praise You!
Just as the earth faithfully produces crops for us,
So our God will bless us.
He will bless us,
And everyone living on the earth will learn to honor, fear, and respect Him.

Psalm 66 – Day 2

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Prayer = Praise.
(Based on Psalm 66)

Shout joyfully in praise to God, everybody and everything on earth!
Sing songs about the glory of His reputation,
And when you do it, make your praise of Him glorious and abundant.
Tell Him how awe-inspiring His deeds are,
And that His great power causes His enemies to cringe before Him.
Sing, “Everyone and everything on earth will bow down before You,
And one day they will all sing Your praises.”
Come and consider all that God does,
What He does among men is both awe-inspiring and fear-producing.
He turned an uncrossable sea into dry land so the Israelites could pass through.
The result was a lot of rejoicing!
His power allows Him to rule for all time – uninterrupted,
He constantly keeps watch over the nations of the earth,
So those who rebel against Him have no business getting full of themselves.
As His people, it is our job to bless Him and make His praises known.
He is the one who gives us life and preserves us,
He keeps us from falling.
O God, You have tried us and proved us,
You have refined us like silver is refined.
You were with us when we ended up in the trap,
It was Your idea to use this pressure in our lives.
You allowed others to lord it over us,
We passed through fire and water,
But in the end, You brought us into a better place.
So I will worship You and fulfill all my commitments to You.
Every promise I made to You when I was in trouble, I will keep.
I will offer up to You the sacrifices You require, whatever the cost.
If You fear God and love Him, come and listen to all I have to say about Him,
Come listen to what He has done in my life.
I cried out to Him for help, and ended up praising Him for what He did.
But unconfessed sin in my life would have prevented that from happening.
But God not only heard me, He answered me.
So I bless and praise God who did not reject my prayer
Or withhold His mercy from me.

Psalm 65 – Day 2

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The Bountiful Blessings of God.
(Based on Psalm 65)

My praise waits silently, expectantly on You, O God,
And I will fulfill all my vows to You.
You are the one who hears and answers prayers,
So all men must come to You eventually.
Your words regarding my sins are too much for me,
But You make atonement for all my transgressions against You!
Happy is the man You choose to offer a relationship with You,
Who You allow to stand in Your presence.
The goodness that is found where You are will satisfy each and every one of us,
Even in the house of God.
You prove You are our salvation every day by awe-inspiring acts of justice,
You are the hope of all mankind, whether they are on the land or the sea.
The mountains are an exhibition of Your great power,
You can control and even calm the raging waters of the oceans,
And you can handle the raging multitudes just as easily.
Even men living in the remotest parts of the world are awed by Your signs,
As they rejoice in the beauty of Your sunrises and sunsets.
You care for the earth, providing it with rain,
Enriching it with the rivers You have created.
You provide men with grain and corn, which You have prepared for them.
You even water the fields that men have prepared,
Softening the soil and causing the crops to grow.
You crown the year with abundance,
And leave blessing everywhere You go.
From meadows in the middle of nowhere to remote mountaintops,
Your blessings rain down.
The pastures are clothed with flocks,
The valleys are covered over with corn,
Visually shouting Your praises and reflecting the joy of Your goodness.

Psalms 63-64 – Day 2

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The Thirst Quencher.
(Based on Psalm 63)

O God, You are my God; my personal God;
I will seek You from the moment I wake up and all day long.
I have unquenchable thirst for You spiritually,
And living in this world that’s like a waterless desert and can leave a man faint,
Even my body longs for the physical refreshment You alone can bring.
I am fully aware of Your holiness, Your set-apartness,
Because I have observed Your power and glory first-hand.
I have discovered that Your mercy and goodness makes living worthwhile,
Which is why praise for You comes so easily from my lips.
So I will bend my knee in submission to You as long as I live,
And I will lift up my hands to You in prayer because of Your reputation.
You spiritually satisfy me like a fine meal does the body,
And joyful praise is my response.
When I lie in bed at night, my thoughts go to You,
I fill my sleepless nights by thinking about You.
Because You have been my help in times past,
I know I will find myself safely rejoicing in Your protection again.
I hold on to You for dear life,
And You keep me safe in Your powerful grip.
But as far as those who wish to harm me,
You will take care of them, giving them exactly what they deserve.
They will suffer death and defeat, their bodies consumed by wild animals.
But as the king of Your people, I will rejoice in You.
Everyone who is true to their word and follows You will have reason to glory,
But all those who speak falsely will one day be stopped.

Put the Fear of God In Them.
(Based on Psalm 64)

O God, please listen to what I am saying.
I know it sounds like complaining,
But I need You to keep me from fearing my enemies.
Hide me so that their plots against me fail,
Don’t let this unruly mob of hooligans get to me.
They use their tongues like a well-sharpened sword,
Like a bow in an arrow, their bitter words pierce deeply.
They aim them at those who seek to live with integrity,
Attacking suddenly and with impunity.
They seem to find strength in doing what is wrong,
They brag about the traps they secretly set,
Saying, “Who will ever see them?”
They’re always seeking new ways to do what is wrong,
And their search is usually successful.
The depth of their thoughts and the hearts behind them are a mystery.
But what they don’t know is that God has them in His sights,
They will find themselves wounded, pierced through by God, as if by an arrow.
Their own words will be turned against them,
Others will shudder when they see what happens to them.
All men will end up fearing God when they see what He has done,
They will have to think long and hard about His actions.
Those who are righteous in God’s eyes will rejoice in Him,
They’ll learn to put their hope and trust in Him.
Those whose hearts are right with God will have reason to boast in Him.

Psalms 63-64 – Day 1

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Obsessed With God.

“I lie awake at night thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.” – Psalm 63:6 NLT

I wish I could say the statement found in the verse above was true of me. But rarely do I find myself lying in bed meditating or thinking about God. Oh, I may find myself thinking about all the things I need God to do for me, but that is not the same thing. I often find myself talking to Him, making requests and asking questions about why things are the way they are and what He is going to do about it all. But David seems to be saying something completely different. Like a child lying awake in bed on Christmas Eve, anticipating the joys of the morning to come, David finds himself immersed in the greatness and goodness of God Himself. He says, “My soul thirsts for you, my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1 NLT). David is in the midst of trying times, living in wilderness environment, both literally and figuratively. He is miles from the Tabernacle and far from the presence of his own people. Even though he was surrounded by those who have aligned themselves with his cause, David still struggled with feeling alone and isolated. So he found himself staying up at night thinking about God – His power, glory, unfailing love, protection, mercy, and ultimate salvation. Even in the midst of difficulty, David could sing about the goodness of God. He focused his attention on God instead of his circumstances. He thought about the character of God instead of worrying about the cares of the day.

David’s life was anything but easy, as Psalm 64 clearly illustrates. He still had enemies. He still had difficulties. He still had plenty of reasons to worry, doubt, fear, and despair. But rather than let his attention focus on his problems, He focused on His God. Reflecting on the nature and character of God is the greatest way to get our minds off of the worries of this world. Suffering should drive us to the One who has the capacity to relieve it. Difficulty should motivate us to turn to the One who can do something about it. Trials should encourage us to turn to the One who can perfect us through them. Rather than lie awake at night worrying, wouldn’t it make more sense to spend our time worshiping?

Father, thank You for this timely reminder. Help me to cultivate a habit of thinking about You instead of my problems. Let me learn to focus my attention on Your goodness and greatness rather than the difficulties in my life. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org