The God of My Life…

Psalm 42:8 (NIV)

By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

Our Verse of the Day comes from a familiar Psalm – the first verses providing inspiration for popular praise and worship music. This psalm speaks to the intimate nature of our relationship with God … His quiet engagement and oversight of our lives … the comfort His presence gives us when we become discouraged in our journey of faith. I have reprinted Psalm 42 for us to see the context … the expression of longing within the human heart … the deep yearning we feel for God when He seems distant during our times of suffering. In those times when we feel forlorn or abandoned, this Psalm reminds us to praise God anyway … to put our hope and trust in Him … to find strength in the knowledge of His sure salvation.

Psalm 42 (NIV)

¹As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. ²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? ³My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” ⁴These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. ⁵Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. ⁶My soul is downcast within me; therefore, I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. ⁷Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. ⁸By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life. ⁹I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” ¹⁰My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” ¹¹Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Have you had one of those days when God seems so far away? Are you feeling downcast in your spirit? I pray this Psalm over you! If you wonder where God might be in your circumstances, know that He is present right there with you. The Lord is directing His love toward you. He is singing His song over you. Indeed, “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Cf. Zephaniah 3:17) Yes, Jesus is right beside you … walking in the furnace and going through the fire of affliction with you. (Cf. Daniel 3:24-27) Oh my friend, Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul.” (Cf. Matthew 11:28-29) Yes, know that Jesus is interceding for you before the throne of the Father; for He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. (Cf. Hebrews 7:25)

The Psalms always seem to bless me and bring clarity of thought and vision for the day ahead. So many focus my attention on the love of God for me … reminding me of His presence and grace when my emotions might lead me to feel otherwise. I just thought it might be good for us to read the entire Psalm to bring us hope and encouragement … because I sense there is someone reading who just needs this Word from the Lord to begin their day. I pray the love and grace of God will be poured out upon you each morning … and fill you when it seems too hard to keep walking ahead. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I pray. Amen.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, for those who have been called according to His purpose. ~ Romans 8:26-28

Love That Surpasses Knowledge

Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)

I pray that out of His glorious riches the Father may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Have you ever doubted God’s love for you? Do you, even now as a believer, question whether He loves you? In our Verse of the Day, Paul prayed that the believers who lived in Ephesus would receive power from the Holy Spirit to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ … and to know this love that surpasses knowledge. Yes, through the Holy Spirit we CAN know the One who dwells in our hearts through faith; and we CAN know the surpassing, incredible love He has for us. Let’s look at the entire passage for the context of his prayer:

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)

For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Such a powerful prayer is presented here, and it should capture our attention. Paul focuses on the role and the power of the Holy Spirit not only to bring us to faith in Christ Jesus but to have the power to experience the love of God through Christ. Yes, we can KNOW it so that we may be filled with the fullness of God. To me, the key concept for us to understand is that KNOWING His love brings the fullness of God into our lives! His love supersedes our sinful nature … our failures … our disobedience … our trespasses … our iniquities … our rebellion … and our rejection of Him. Still, we should understand that His love does not accept, embrace, overlook, or dismiss those things at all; on the contrary, His love was so great that He died a sacrificial, atoning death on the cross to remove all those things from our lives! God demonstrated His own love for us in this: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Cf. Romans 5:8) When we understand the necessity of the atonement Jesus died to achieve for us; perhaps then, we will begin to comprehend the expanse of His great love….

1 John 4:7-11 (NKJV)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this, the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

My friends, I pray you will always rest assured that God love is an everlasting love. It is not dependent on our performance; rather, it is inherent in His creation of us. God has demonstrated His love for us; and I believe what the Father desires most is for us to demonstrate our love for Him. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) Likewise, He said: “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (Cf. John 15:10) God’s love was demonstrated through the sacrifice of His Son. Our love can be demonstrated through obedience to His will. As Paul urged: “In view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – for this is your true and proper worship.” (Cf. Romans 12:1) Amen.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 8:35-39

Be Slow To Anger…

James 1:19-20 (NIV)

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires….

Our Verse of the Day affords us some great wisdom when it comes to interpersonal communications. The Apostle James shares some rock-solid advice when it comes to improving how we interact with others. Quick to listen … slow to speak … and slower still to ever become angry. As James pointed out – human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires for our lives.

King Solomon shared similar wisdom for our edification:

Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues. ~ Proverbs 10:19

Whoever belittles and derides their neighbor lacks wisdom, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue. ~ Proverbs 11:12

The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. ~ Proverbs 17:27-28

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart^[a] of fools. ~ Ecclesiastes 7:8-9

I suppose there might be times for “righteous” anger to manifest itself. Consider Jesus in the temple with the money-changers recounted in Matthew 21; Mark 11; and Luke 19. But I think we are best advised to turn the other cheek in most cases – especially if the situation is simply going to be a “war of words.” As Paul advised: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Cf. Colossians 4:5-6) After all, we can always just agree to disagree…. Indeed, let us remember that the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Cf. Exodus 34:6; Psalm 86:15; Psalm 103:8; Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2)

My friends, I believe we would be wise to follow the character and example of our Lord Jesus in our interactions with people. Yes, let us be compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness. As Jesus commanded: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Cf. John 13:34-35)

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin.” (Citing Psalm 4:4) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. ~ Ephesians 4:22-27