Year 8, Day 217: Colossians 2

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The gist of Colossians 2 is very simple.  God saves us.  We do not save ourselves.  God redeemed us.  God forgives us. God makes us alive.  The work is God’s.

Because God has saved us and made us alive, we therefore shouldn’t let anyone make us feel contrary.  God’s power is greater than anyone else.  How can someone undo what God has done for us?  If God declares us alive, who dares to come along and declare us in jeopardy of being dead again?

We need to live in the confidence that comes from God.  In God, we can know salvation.  In God, we can know eternal life.  Nothing and nobody can take that away from us.  We are sinful; He and He alone makes us righteous.

That being said, we must be careful to not push Paul’s teaching into cheap grace.  Just because nobody can undo the work of God is not permission to do anything we want!  There is a difference between being unable to counter God’s salvific work and being disobedient to God.  God can forgive our sin, certainly.  But that does not mean that God is pleased when He goes to all the effort of saving us and we live in our disobedience.

In the end, though, Paul is right.  Nobody has any right to come and tell us that we aren’t good enough to be saved or that we don’t believe in the right way.  We are saved by God through the work of Christ on the cross.  Through the cross, we can live forever with Him in eternal life.  That is God’s promise to us.

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Year 8, Day 216: Colossians 1

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It feels really good this morning to be back into the New Testament.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love studying the Old Testament, understanding the history, and seeing God prepare His plan for salvation.  Many of the lessons in the Old Testament are incredible to learn and even more important to make sure we do not forget.  That being said, there are times when reading the New Testament feels like slipping on a warm pair of sandals and relaxing in the comfortable chair that I’ve sat in forever and to which my body has learned to conform.

In Colossians, Paul – typical for Paul – says many great things.  There are far too many great things to talk about in this simple blog.  This morning, I feel the urge to dwell on what I perceive is the crux of this chapter: God’s love and His desire to redeem us.

What is it that Paul prays for with respect to the people of Colossae?  That they may be filled with the wisdom and knowledge of God.  Why?  So that they may walk in the ways of the Lord.  Why?  So that they may please the Lord.  Why?  So that they may bear fruit and increase in knowledge and wisdom.  Why?  So that they may be strengthened according to God’s might.  Why? So that we can have endurance and patience.  Why?  So that we can give thanks to God.  Why? So that we can share in an eternal inheritance with God and His saints.  How does this happen?   Because we have forgiveness through repentance in deliverance out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light.

As a bit of an aside, do you notice how powerful the question why is?  I personally think it is a shame that we beat this question out of toddlers.  Two year-olds are masters of this question, and unfortunately we get so sick of asking why that in our frustration we teach them to not say it.  And then, as we get older, we make fun of toddlers who do say it and train the other adults listening that its okay to share in the frustration and beat it out of their toddlers.  I believe that the question “why?” is perhaps the single-most important question in the English language.  In fact, I personally think that the word “why” is the most crucial word in the English language.  It is the question that always pushes us into deeper understanding.  The question “how” is usually pretty good; and to be honest “what,” “where,” and “when” don’t get us much past a single layer of information exchange.  It we truly want to learn and grow, we must embrace the “why” and do what we can to foster its use, especially in young people!

Back to theology.  Look at what we learn in Colossians just by asking why.  We learn that everything in our relationship with God is rooted in Christ work of redemption.  We learn that there is a process to faith that starts with learning, progresses through doing, moves on to extending our learning, causes us to grow in patience and endurance, and brings us to joy and praise.  We learn that a God who could have washed His hands of us and walked away did everything except that by taking on the human condition and paving a way for us to get back to Him!  We learn that life is best led when He is our head.  We also learn that He has called us to live the same kind of sacrificial love that He modeled for us.  All of this comes from a single man who writes through the lens of why.

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Year 8, Day 215: Psalms 79-80

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Psalms 79 and 80 can leave a strange taste in the mouth if we don’t take time to understand its history.  If we’re not careful, it easy to come away with one of two messages when we read these words.  First, we can come away with the idea that the Lord is unjust and leads us into dark places intentionally.  Second, we can come away with the idea that we can be angry with the Lord until He proves Himself by acting in a way that we desire Him to act.  For the record, both of these are wrong.

If we look at the history of these psalms, we need to remember that Asaph was a priest under the time of Hezekiah.  Hezekiah was a king who became righteous only after a long period of unrighteousness.  Before Hezekiah came Ahaz, who was not known for his righteousness.  Why is this important?  These psalms are written in the period of Hezekiah’s reign when reform is beginning.  These psalms are written as the people realize their unrighteousness and begin to turn from their evil.  These psalms are written as the people begin to embrace the accountability that God has brought to them.

In this light, Asaph asks God how long He will remain mad.  In this light, Asaph asks God to remember to bless the people.  Asaph isn’t asking God to bless them so that they will believe, Asaph is asking God to recognize that they do believe and they are repenting.  Asaph is asking God that as they repent God show His mercy so that it can be a great witness to the nations around them.  In that light, these psalms become powerful witnesses.

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Year 8, Day 214: Psalms 77-78

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Both of these psalms for today have teaching at their core.  In fact, these psalms are concerned with making sure that the next generation does not lose sight of the identity of God.  Psalm 77 is more explicit about the need for teaching, psalm 78 gives the details of what needs to be taught.  At the heart of this process is the relationship between God and His people.

What is interesting is the form of the teaching that the psalms take.  In both psalms, but especially Psalm 78, what we find is a psalm that teaches by counter-example.  In fact, Psalm 78 is a summary of the Exodus.

Remember what the Exodus is to the Hebrew people.  It is a great moment because it is the memory of the people when they went from bondage to freedom.  It is the great moment when God responded to their pleas for help.  It is the time in their lives when God showed His salvific character to His people in its greatest form.

At the same time, remember how the Hebrew people of that generation are remembered.  It isn’t a fond memory.  They are called the rebellious generation.  Some places in scripture even call them the evil generation.  They are a people who constantly doubted, who constantly moaned, and who were constant thorns in the sides of their leaders.  This is the point of the psalm.

These psalms want to do more than talk about God’s relationship with he people.  These psalms are about teaching the people how the relationship is spoiled.  When the hearts of the people are embittered, their relationship with God is diminished.  This doesn’t mean that God’s love diminishes; what it means is that our perception of the relationship is spoiled.  Instead of God’s blessing, the people received God’s correction.  The point of the psalm is to remind the people that we need to check our own hearts and ensure that we are not embittered towards God.

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Year 8, Day 212: Psalms 75-76

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Today we get a pair of psalms talking about the greatness of God.  In fact, the focus of God’s greatness is His ability to judge.  He reigns supreme over the world, especially with respect to the eternal.  When He desires to exert Himself, who among us can stand against His will?

At the end of Psalm 76, there is a pair of phrases that caught my attention: “surely the wrath of man will praise you” and “the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.”  At first glance, these phrases seem a bit odd.  Is the psalmist trying to say that God identifies with – or even approves of human wrath?  Does God approve of the moments in life when we lash out in anger and seek to injure one another?

Of course not.  In fact, these phrases are actually saying the opposite.  The wrath of man will praise God.  In other words, in the great conflict between human wrath and God’s omnipotence, the psalmist is declaring that God’s omnipotence will win.  Human wrath will have its will bent to the will of God.  Human wrath will bend the knee and submit.  God is the omnipotent one, although human wrath gives it the best shot that it can.

The second phrase adds to this conclusion.  It is the remnant of wrath that God will put on like a belt.  By definition, a remnant is that which is left behind when the original is destroyed.  Human wrath will be destroyed.  Human wrath will be subdued.  God will victor, human wrath will know defeat.

In fact, not only will God win, He will wear human wrath like a belt.  The defeat of human wrath will like a trophy for God!  The defeat of human wrath will be so significant that God will wear it around His person as a sign of the great accomplishment that it is.

I long for that day.  I long for a day when human beings stop looking at each other through eyes that only see self-gain.  I long for a day when the wrath of human beings has been subdued and replaced with love.  I long for a day when God’s omnipotence bends our humanity to Him.

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Year 8, Day 212: Psalms 73-74

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Psalm 73 is a comparative truth psalm.  It begins with lifting up one concept for understanding.  By the end of the psalm, the psalmist will have arrived at the other end of the spectrum.

In the beginning of the psalm, the psalmist lifts up the people in life who seem to have no strife.  The have wealth, prosperity, and ease.  The people around them don’t find any fault with them.  After all, much of the world operates under a type of false sight.  If it looks perfect on the outside, then we assume everything is just fine.  Much of the world only sees skin deep.  We see people with wealth, power, and an easy life and we assume that they are better examples of humanity than the rest of us.  This is because we see through eyes of human desire, not eyes of truth.  At some level, we want part – if not all – of what they have.  If nothing else, we want the life that knows no pain until the end.

At the end of the psalm we arrive at the opposite end of the spectrum.  The psalmist knows that such people are not perfect.  He knows that their pain is still present, it is just buried underneath the perfect exterior.  Flesh and heart fail; God is our strength.  God brings us to His glory.  He guides us with His counsel.

To go a bit beyond the scope of the psalm, I’ve found a bit of truth to be true in life.  We can try to live a life that seems perfect on the exterior, but if we do that we will know turmoil on the inside.  In order to find peace on the inside, we need God.  Most often I’ve found that we find God when we accept the turbulent outside.  When we honestly look at the sin within and the sin in the world, we are best prepared to know and value God and His ways.  Then we know true peace.

When it comes to Psalm 74, we have a pretty typical rescue psalm.  The psalmist feels the enemies of Israel coming around them and making threats.  At times, the situation looks bleak.  The psalmist reminds God of the covenant.  The psalmist also reminds God of the power that He has.  The psalmist urges the Lord to do battle for His people.

On one hand, I’ve always thought this tactic a bit arrogant.  After all, who are we to remind God of His promise?  Who are we to make demands upon God?

On the other hand, though, something happens deep within us when we do remind God about the covenant.  When we remind God, we remind ourselves.  When we remind ourselves, we force ourselves to make a decision.  Either we truly believe or we simply speak platitudes.  The second is not an option.  When we remind God about His promises, we actually reinforce our faith in Him.  That’s the point of the psalm.

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Year 8, Day 211: Psalms 71-72

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Today we have two unique psalms.  The first is a psalm of praise to the glory of God.  The second is a psalm of David as he looks upon the imminent reign of his son Solomon.  Both psalms have something to teach us about life today.

First, look at what we can learn about our relationship with God.  In the first psalm, we have the typical sentiments. The Lord is our rock.  He is our refuge.  He is our shelter.  He is our deliverer.  These are all expected sentiments with a psalm.

There’s more to this psalm than a list of the characteristics of God, however.  In this psalm we also see the human response to the character of God.  We come to Him as we go to a rock for shelter and stability.  We trust in His rescue.    We hope in His presence.  We speak of His righteousness.  As human beings, we have an active role to play.  Relationship is best when it is two-way, not one way.  As great as God is, we have a role to play in the relationship.

This leads us to Psalm 72.  We know David’s relationship with the Lord was strong.  God protected David.  God prospered David.  God called David a man after His own heart.  In all of this, though, David did not desire to keep the relationship between the two of them.  David, and no doubt God as well, desired that his relationship with the Lord would be passed along into others.  Specifically, David desired that his relationship with God would become a relationship between God and his son, Solomon.

As David looks to Solomon’s impending reign, David writes this psalm.  Notice, though, how much the things that David says about the role of the king mimics that of the role of God.  The king is responsible for prosperity of the land.  The king is a defender of the defenseless.  The kings sees that the righteous prosper.  The king has pity on the needy.  David sees the role of the king as the avatar of God’s ways.

This is what relationship with God is all about.  God draws us close to Him so that we can know His goodness.  As we know His goodness, we become representatives of that goodness.  As we represent His goodness, we model it to others and invite them intothe same goodness.

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Year 8, Day 210: Psalms 69-70

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The psalms for today are both deliverance psalms.  We have the usual verses crying out for salvation.  We have the typical stanzas about how there are people surrounding the psalmist and seeking his life, position, power, prosperity.  We have the typical call for the wicked to be swallowed up in the Lord’s wrath.  These psalms have all the telltale markings.

Reading through the psalms of deliverance, though, there is something unique that is vitally important to pick up.  Unlike many times in the world where we hear a cry for deliverance, this cry comes with certain humbleness.  There is an admission of guilt.  The psalmist doesn’t cry out for salvation because they deserve it.  That’s what separates the deliverance psalms of the Bible from modern pleas for deliverance.  So often people want to be saved because they want fairness, or they think they deserve it, or someone else is picking on them.  In this psalm, the psalmist tells God, “You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor.”  The psalmist knows that he’s not perfect.  He doesn’t deserve salvation, he humble requests it.

I love this element in today’s reading.  It shows us the importance of being humble and understanding our flawed humanity.  Who are we to go before God and demand salvation?  Who are we to expect Him to rescue us?

We have no right to go before God and make demands.  In truth, we have no right to go before one another and make demands, either.  What right we have is to go before God, confess our fallenness, admit our guilt, embrace our shame, and then ask God to save us.

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Year 8, Day 209: Psalms 67-68

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These two psalms for today are primarily about praising God.  As has been often said, He is our salvation.  He blesses us.  He scatters His enemies before Him.  He makes the righteous glad.  He restores inheritances.  There is much reason for Him to receive our praise.

Look at what the psalms say about His being.  He rides the heavens.  The power of the Lord is in the skies.  He rules over the beasts of the earth.  He is master over creation.  There is even more reason for Him to receive our praise.

Look at whom the Lord tramples underfoot.  He tramples those who lust after money.  He scatters those who love war and strife.  He looks down those who persist in walking in their guilty ways.  He makes the rebellious dwell in a parched land.  Those who hate Him flee.  Even more reason to receive our praise.

Finally, look at those to whom God’s favor falls upon.  In fact, there is something surprising about this list.  God leads prisoners.  God is a father to the fatherless.  God is the protector of widows.  Those who humble themselves and place themselves within His flock find pasture with Him.  It is the humbled ones of the world who find dwelling with God.

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Year 8, Day 208: Psalms 65-66

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Psalms 65 and 66 are both largely psalms of praise.  The focus is on the great works of the Lord and how the Lord provides for His people.  You can find a little bit of everything in these psalms.  The Lord cares for the earth, providing rain and sunshine to make the plants grow so that human beings may enjoy them.  He makes the mountains, which has all kinds of effects upon weather patterns, rain, and clean water.  He stills the seas in the midst of turbulent storms.  He causes fields to abound in harvest.  He causes the flocks of herd animals to grow in great number.  God is good.

God loves more than just creation.  The psalms also talk about what God does for human beings.  As mentioned above, He provides for us.  He rescues us in our distress.  He listens to our sorrow.  He keeps watch over the nations.

While these things are great, there is something even deeper in the psalms.  The Lord atones for us hen our iniquities prevail against us.  In those moments when our wrongdoing catches up to us, God is there, waiting to atone.  In those moments when our choices prove wrong, god is there, waiting to atone.  In those moments when our lips do not utter things that bring honor to His name, God is there, waiting to atone.

Yes, He provides for the creation He loves.  Yes, he provides for people made in His own image.  But what makes god a truly loving God is His desire to atone for us when sin lies in wait in our lives and we succumb to its temptation.  What makes God great is that when we are truly in our greatest moment of need, God is there simply waiting for an opportunity to atone for our misdoings.

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Year 8, Day 207: Psalms 63-64

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Beginning with Psalm 64, we have another psalm of David that is focus on the Lord’s protection.  It is the Lord who fights for David.  It is the Lord who sends arrows into His enemies.  It is the Lord who hides us from the plots of those who seek to harm us.  It is the Lord who brings down David’s enemies, not David.  This is a psalm that is very much in line with many of the other psalms of David.

This brings us back to Psalm 63.  Psalm 63 brings out an interesting point to ponder, deeper than the illustrations in the psalms of protection.  It is one thing to turn to the Lord in our times of trouble.  The real question, though, is if that is enough.

David tells the Lord that he will remember Him as he lays upon his bed.  Even into the watches of the night David will meditate upon the Lord.  I’m not sure what happens to most people as they lie down for the night, but that’s hen I do most of my processing for the day.  That’s when I think about any lingering thoughts I might have about ow I acted, what was said, and anything left bothering me. 

In other words, David is not just coming to God when he needs him.  David is inviting God deep into His personal life.  When David looks into the inner parts of his soul, David will do it with a mind focused on God and God’s ways.  When David looks to the core of his being, he wants God there next to him.

There is a certain amount of wisdom here.  Whenever we process who we are – whether at night, first thing in the morning, or somewhere in between – God should be there with us.  It is His perspective that will be able to bring balance to what we find.

David knows this.  That’s why he can say that when he does meditate he will cling to the Lord and sing for joy.  Most of us, when we look inside and take stock of what we find, don’t often care for what we see.  But when we walk with the Lord and look through His perspective, we see not just the things that need to change but also the hope for what they can become.  He alone can look within and provide us the perspective that we need.  That is why we cling to Him in our whole life.

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Year 8, Day 206: Psalms 62

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Here is another psalm of David that speaks about turning to the Lord in times of trouble.  With as many psalms as David writes on this topic, one might think that his reign as king wasn’t all champagne and roses.  If one thought that, one would be right.

God is a rock.  He is our salvation.  He is our hope in times of strife.  He is a mighty rock.

Notice something about all of those descriptions.  Those are things that one clings to.  Those are external sources of strength.  David would say and think these things in times when he needed strength.  In other words, these are thoughts that console a person in times of internal weakness and doubt.

This is a really important concept to ponder.  David, the greatest king of the whole Hebrew Nation, had moments of internal doubt.  He had moments when he was weak and confused on the inside.  In other words, he was human.  This is a part of what it means to be a part of the human existence.

There will be days when we are full of strength and confidence.  There will also be moments when we are doing something new and our confidence lacks.  There will also be moments when people express a difference of opinion – or outright conflict – and we doubt ourselves and feel rejected.  This is humanity.

In those moments, we should turn to the Lord for strength.  We shouldn’t turn to our own devices such as lying to get our way, lashing out in our anger, extorting others by fear of what we can do to them, or other such nefarious means.  True strength isn’t found in the ways that we can harm others or establish ourselves above others.  True strength is found in the Lord, who builds us up and enables us to build up others.

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Year 8, Day 205: Psalms 60-61

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In the two psalms for today, we get another perspective on the relationship dynamics between God and humanity.  So often when we think about our relationship with God, we think about happy things.  We think about things like harmony, joy, forgiveness, peace, glory, and greatness.  That’s the ideal.  When we who are human are able to let go of our own humanity and instead follow God and His ways, we do meet the ideal.

However, honesty will tell us that there is an issue with the prior paragraph.  Humans have a hard time completely letting go of their humanity.  We act selfishly.  We think of ourselves before others.  We also tend to not listen all that well.  We can be obedient, but we’d really rather do our own thing.  Life is good when we are following God, but we have a tendency to stray off the path.  Sometimes we stray a long way off.

That’s what psalm 60 is all about.  David knows that the people have strayed.  They have walked away from God, and God has decided to let them go.  God is willing to allow the people to suffer the consequences of their own actions.

Yet, God has not abandoned them.  When the people have walked away, God did not walk away.  God set up a banner to which the people could return.  Those who run to the banner and re-embrace God’s ways are welcomed back under His protection.  That’s the greatest thing about God.  He always leaves the porchlight on.  We may turn prodigal, but He is always there to welcome us back if we simply have the humility to acknowledge our error and return.

This leads us to Psalm 61.  This is a psalm of praise and joy.  While it is not necessarily connected in context to Psalm 60, it is certainly an extension of the theme.  God is the rock that is higher than us.  That is why we end up walking away from Him instead of Him turning away from us.  He is the superior.  He is the greater.  He has true wisdom.

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Year 8, Day 204: Psalm 59

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Psalm 59 is another psalm of David where he speaks about the trouble around him.  As we’ve seen in prior psalms, David continues to turn to faith in God in the face of evil.  In today’s psalm, we can go a little further than this point.

David gives us a bit of insight into the mind of the evil ones.  In fact, the words he says are so fundamental he repeats them for us twice.  Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.  The image he gives us is clear.  These are people who are looking for trouble.  These are people who want to do evil.  These are people who are consciously choosing the fulfillment of their own desires over good.

The first time David talks about them he speaks about them coming with swords and confidence that they won’t be heard.  They are confident in their evil.  They know full well what they are doing.  They have a plan and seek to fulfill their own schemes.

The second time David talks about them he mentions that they howl if they do not get their fill.  In other words, evil is a hunger that must be sated.  In the beginning, evil is something done because it is a means to an end.  In the end, we serve the craving of evil.  What starts out as a means to our end eventually takes control.

In contrast, look to what David lifts up as proper conduct.  God, who laughs at the wicked ones, is David’s fortress.  Unlike evil, which takes control of us eventually, God meets David in love.  God protects David instead of using him as evil does.  This is why David continuously turns to God.  He knows that evil is no friend.  He knows that when we lie down with evil it is us who are changed and not for the better.  We are changed for the better when we turn to God and abide in His ways.

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Year 8, Day 203: Psalm 58

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Psalm 58 is a dark psalm, darker than most people would care to acknowledge at first.  It’s easy to listen to these words and acknowledge the truth within.  Who hasn’t looked at the world and noticed that the wicked prosper and the evil seem to win?  Who hasn’t wondered if words like justice and righteousness are actual truths or simple ideological concepts that we’ve made up to make ourselves feel like there is purpose to life?  Who hasn’t occasionally wondered how long evil will continue to abound.  Who hasn’t longed for judgment day?

That’s human nature.  Everyone who has ever been hurt by another person – okay, all of us – understand the temptation to feel justice.  We want vindication.  We want a righteous decree telling the wrongdoer that they’ve been caught.  That’s why shows like Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, and Forensic Files are insanely popular.  In the end, the story is good because the bad guys get caught.  Most humans, although we are all sinful and corrupt, long for the time when evil will get what it is due.

Yet, that is a dark side to humanity.  Judgment Day in any form is not fun.  When I cry for vengeance, I only add my cry to the people who cry to see my evil avenged!  I am not perfect.  I am guilty of sin.  My flesh is corrupt.  I need to remember the guilt that I bear, too.  I need to remember that Jesus had to die for my sake as much as anyone else’s.

That’s the delicate balance in psalms like these.  It can be so easy to long for the crimes of others to be revealed and dealt with. In fact, it can even be righteous to do so!  God Himself knows that sin must be atoned, and that atonement had great cost and great pain involved.  We need to remember the balance between forgiveness and atonement.  We must seek the true balance between forgiveness and cost.

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Year 8, Day 202: Psalm 57

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I think one of the aspects of David that I respect the most is his ability to always see.  I’m not talking about his ability to use his eyes.  What I’m talking about is his ability to use his mind.  To put it in the most confusing way possible, what David sees often doesn’t match what David sees.

When David, the greatest Hebrew king of all time, looks out with his eyes he sees a bleak picture.  People are always trying to usurp him.  They want his power.  They want his throne.  They want his power.  They want his prestige.  If there is anything true about being at the top, it’s that you have everyone else’s bull's-eye on your back.  That’s David’s reality every day.  It’s hard to be king and go through a day not wondering who is gunning to take you down.

In fact, David had good reason to fear!  In spite of being able to do some great things through faith – killing Goliath comes to mind – his reign was filled with valleys.  His son revolts.  The nations around him rise up against him.  His own subject plot against him.  The other tribes wrestle with being ruled by a Judahite.

Having said that, read the words in this psalm.  Yes, the pain of life is there.  The words, however, paint a different picture.  David sees hope.  David sees a reason to sing!  David finds reason to believe and be steadfast.  David finds reason to praise God!

It really is a matter of perspective.  David could easily have turned angry and bitter.  He could have become suspicious and cold.  He could have built emotion brick walls within spiritual ones.  But that isn’t what he does.  David continues to turn to God, find joy and peace, and then bring that light to life.

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Year 8, Day 201: Psalm 56

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Today we get another psalm of David.  It’s another psalm where David talks about turning to the Lord in the midst of being pursued himself.  Hopefully the theme that’s appeared throughout the last ten psalms or so is clearly visible.  In the midst of David’s trouble, David turns to God and has faith.  In the midst of human pursuit, David turns to God instead of lashing out.

Think about all of the things that happened to David in his life.  How many times did Saul try to kill David?  Yet when David had opportunity to take Saul’s life, David didn’t.  Remember when Absalom overthrew David and took over the kingdom?  David vacated the throne and waited for God to open the door back into the kingdom.  Remember when David was chased out of Israel and was forced to live among the Philistines?  David waited among the Philistines, working hard, until God opened a door for him to return.

David truly is a man after God’s own heart.  He trusts the Lord.  He desires to live according to God’s direction and has the patience to wait him out.  Yes, David sinned.  Yes, David made his share of mistakes.  But there is something that is true in David’s life.  When the chips are down, David turns to the Lord and trusts.

That’s what this psalm is about.  People scheme against David.  They look for their opening.  They think evil thoughts against him.  They speak ill of him.  They lurk and plot and plan.

In all of this, David turns to the Lord and honestly asks how he can possibly be afraid.  If God is for him, what should David fear?  If David is truly walking step by step with the Lord, why cower in fear?

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Year 8, Day 200: Psalm 55

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In Psalm 55 we can continue the thinking we started in the last psalm.  Again we have a psalm of David when he is calling out to the Lord for help.  There is one difference in today’s psalm than from yesterday.  Today, David is oppressed by someone close.  David has found an enemy in someone that he thought was a friend.

David’s response, however, is still the same.  David calls out to God for help.  David knows that the source of salvation is not something within himself but something found within God first.  David understands that while oppression may come from the humans, even friends, around him but salvation only comes from God.

What’s neat about this psalm, though, is that we see that this is not nearly as easy as it sounds.  David’s heart is in anguish.  He wants to run – or in this case, fly – away.  He needs to fight the human instinct within.  David is restless inside.  Waiting for God and His salvation can sometimes require patience.  Patience is often in short supply when we feel like we are oppressed.

As discussed yesterday, worshipping God must be more than lip-service.  If we trust God, then we must place our trust in Him, too.  We cannot lash out and react, solving our human problems in our own human way.  But this is easier said than done.  Waiting upon the Lord means we must learn patience.  We must learn how to listen.  We must resist temptation within to follow our human solutions.  Being the Lord’s disciple means all of this so that we can truly follow Him even in our troubles.

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Year 8, Day 199: Psalm 54

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In psalm 54 we have another plea for salvation.  No surprise, we return to a psalm of David.  This psalm has a simple, honest tone about it that sounds like David.  David is in trouble and he cries out to God.  David even seems to have been caught blindsided by the trouble as he claims that strangers have risen up against him.

There’s something neat that comes up when thinking about this psalm and psalms like it.  Worshipping God is more than just lip service.  Naturally, we understand that.  There is no logical reason for anyone, much less God, to appreciate lip service.  We naturally understand that worship must be more than lip service.

That being said, when it comes to trouble do we really practice what we claim to believe?  How often when we are oppressed do we try to save ourselves?  How often do we lash out in anger, seek revenge, devise a scheme equally as bad as those who oppress us, or other such calamity?  When people rise up against us, how often do we try to take matters in our own hands and solve our troubles our way?

That’s the neat thing about this psalm.  When David is oppressed, even by an unknown enemy, look what he does.  He turns to the Lord.  He asks the Lord to deliver him.  He places his trust into the hands of the Lord.

We need to be careful with this, though.  I’m not saying that David became inactive and expects God to do everything for him.  What David does is to wait upon the Lord.  Instead of lashing out in his human emotional reaction, he pauses to understand what God’s plan is.  Once he knows how God will work salvation, then he acts, playing whatever part God needs him to play.    That’s the key to making our faith more than lip service.  We need to wait upon the Lord and then truly follow Him if we are truly going to claim to worship Him as God.

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Year 8, Day 198: Psalm 53

Theological Commentary: Click Here

At first pass, this psalm seems utterly depressing.  Nobody does good.  All have sinned.  We’re all corrupt.  We’re all covered in iniquity.  We have all fallen away.  We all prey upon one another in one form or another!  Oh, what a bleak picture!

Truth be told, it’s all true.  Can any of us be declared righteous on our own merit?  Can any one of us shed our iniquity?  Can any one of us keep himself from falling away from God’s ways?  While bleak, is it any less true?

This is why the end of the psalm is so meaningful.  Salvation does come out of Zion.  God Himself makes our salvation a reality.  It is God who restores the fortunes of His people.  God is the source of salvation.

While this psalm does cause a bleak look in the mirror for humanity, it is a fundamental look.  To truly rejoice in the salvation, is it not necessary to understand our own turmoil?  To receive grace, isn’t it best when we understand the cost? 

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