Posts that reference the Psalms

Psalm 9:9-10

By Paula Leave a Comment

Let’s take a moment and consider these verses tucked in the middle of Psalm 9.

The Lord also (in addition to all the other things He does)

Will be a refuge (a shelter, a safehouse, a stronghold)

For the oppressed, (the burdened, the crushed, the discouraged, the depressed)

A refuge in times of trouble. (heartache, frustration, uncertainty)

And those who know Your name (Your character, Your promises)

Will put their trust (their confidence, their hope)

In You; (The God Who Sees)

For You, Lord, (The Sovereign Master)

Have not forsaken (abandoned, turned away, disowned, ignored)

Those who seek (hunt, reach for, hunger for)

You. (Your heart, Your healing, Your touch, Your presence)

Psalm 9:9-10

Last week we looked at our mission. The Enemy has plenty of weapons to hinder us, including anger, pride, and self-absorption. Perhaps the most effective weapon, though, is fear. If we are going to be effective, fighting fear is going to be a key skill.

What is fear?

We don’t usually think of it this way, but fear is the absence of trust. When we don’t trust the quality of our studying, we are afraid to take a chemistry test. When we don’t trust physics and Boeing, we don’t get on airplanes. When we don’t trust people, we are afraid to invest ourselves in friendships and relationships. When we don’t trust God… nothing else works.

How to fight fear

God, in His grace, knows that fear is a major issue, so He talks about it a lot in the Bible. There are hundreds of references dealing with fear, worry, and anxiety — all different heads of the same monster. Here are a few to implement:

(2 Tim 1:7 – KJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Fear NEVER comes from God. He gives us a spirit of power (yes I can do what He gives me to do) a spirit of love (loving others is the key to carrying out the mission) and a sound mind (thinking clearly and truthfully about ourselves and our situation.)

(Psalm 118:6) The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

That’s IS. Present tense. Right now. Count on it. Not “I hope He’s with me”, or “He might be if…” If I get the IS part, the ” I will not be afraid” part is a piece of cake. And that’s GOD with me. What can a man do to frustrate the purposes of Almighty God? Nothing… (Why don’t I remember that?)

(1 John 4:18) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

GOD IS PERFECT LOVE. He defines it. He loves me perfectly and so seeks only my best interest. Granted His definition of ‘my best interest’ and mine often clash, but that’s my lack of trust popping up again. His perfect love carries an eternal perspective that I can’t always see or wrap my mind around.

God called us to go forth and conquer, not stay home and whimper. Fight that fear!

Foul, Festering Foolishness

By Paula

Psalm 38:5 My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.

Often the deep wounds we carry are made worse because of how we choose to deal with them.

Foolishness: If God let the wounds happen, there’s a reason, something I need to learn, so I’ll just suffer.
Foolishness: It didn’t really cause any real damage.
Foolishness: If I ignore it, it won’t affect my life.
Foolishness: I can figure out a way to deal with this on my own.
Foolishness: I am somehow tainted because of this wound, somehow unworthy, less than everyone else.
Foolishness: God cannot, will not forgive this

But here is the reality in Psalm 38:9
Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.
God knows. He hears.
What’s more, He is at work.

Romans 8:29 tells us that God’s plan is to conform us to Christ.
That may entail doing some hard work.
Acknowledging the foul wounds.
Acknowledging the damage.
Acknowledging the need for help.

Seeking God rather than hiding from Him.
Seeking forgiveness and healing

Recognizing your worth to God.

Trading foolishness for wisdom.

Abundance

By Paula

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 1 Kings 18:41

You’re probably familiar with the story. Israel had endured three and a half years with no rain. Elijah met the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel and God demonstrated the He alone was God. Then Elijah says, “There is the sound of abundance of rain.”

The dictionary defines abundance as plenty, having an ample amount. Theologically, I think it goes beyond that. The abundance of rain meant that not only were the immediate needs in Israel met, but they didn’t have to worry about the future. They could plant crops. The livestock would survive. The pressure was off.

Rain isn’t all that is abundant.

‘The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression.’ Numbers 14:18a
God’s mercy is abundant. That means not only does He forgive our sins, but we don’t have to live in fear

He is excellent in power, In judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. Job 37:23b
He is abundant in justice. We don’t despair at unfairness and inequity. Wrongs will be made right.

In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more. Psalm 72:7
God brings peace not only in our hearts and relationship, but we are no longer His enemies through Christ. We don’t have to question where we stand with Him.

O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. Psalm 130:7
We are redeemed from sin, but God continues to work turning our failures into something He can use for His glory. We don’t have to worry.

Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. Jeremiah 33:6
His truth is vast in scope and relevance. It does not expire.

I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Jonah 4:2b
Lovingkindness is God’s covenant love. He doesn’t rescind it because of what we do. It is steadfast and secure.

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17
We receive an abundance of grace through the work of Christ. That grace covers–completely covers–our sins and shortcomings. It doesn’t run out. There is no fine print.

To recap:

Mercy, justice, peace, redemption, truth, lovingkindness, and grace. Not just to meet today’s needs, but tomorrow’s, the next day’s, and so on. We don’t have to wonder if that one thing we did can be forgiven. We don’t have to be concerned about whether the promises still apply. God has dealt, currently deals, and will continue to deal with us out of His abundance.

Revival Acrostic

By Paula

Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. Psalm 119:88

Revival

Renewing
Energy

Re-igniting
Evangelistic
Vision

Rejecting
Every
Vile
Impulse

Remembering
Escaped
Vengeance.
Instead,
Vicarious
Atonement

Refusing
Excuses,
Verbalizing
Intended
Vigilance

Restoring
Each
Vital
Intimacy,
Venerating
All-Sufficient
Lord

Like Incense

By Paula

Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2

Incense was a vital component of worship in Israel, but one that we don’t often incorporate in Protestant services. However, knowing that incense symbolizes the intercession and prayers of God’s people, and knowing that so many facets of tabernacle worship were also object lessons, we can learn some important things about our worship and prayer.

The background on incense

In Exodus 30-34-38 God instructs Moses on the makeup and usage of the incense for Israel’s worship. He said to use stacte, onycha, and galbanum, and mix with pure frankincense in equal amounts. Frankincense you’ve probably heard of. Of the others, galbanum is the only one that scholars have positively identified. (However, if you Google them, “essential oils” is one of the autocomplete suggestions for each.) The bottom line is, it smelled terrific, distinctively terrific. But before any of the spices could be used there was some prep work. Each of the ingredients had to be crushed and ground to a fine powder. During the tabernacle and temple ceremonies, it was burned by fire on an altar. One final note: Israel was not allowed to copy the recipe and whip up a batch of the incense for their own personal use.

So let’s take some principles from all that.

Ground – Our sincerest worship often comes from our authentic brokenness and need.

Mixture – Worship and prayer is a mixture, not based on a meticulous, legalistic formula, but definitely a combination of God-honoring things like adoration, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and lament.

Fire – Fire is often used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, so prayer and worship that are not Spirit-infused are empty.

Distinctive – If we treat worship and prayer as common and ordinary, we dishonor God.

Sweet – The aroma lingered in the space, on the worshiper after it was over. If we don’t carry the impact of our time with God out beyond the designated time and place, it has been empty. I think it’s a fair extrapolation to say that if we bring hypocrisy and sin into our worship, it’s a lot more skunky than sweet.

How would our prayer life and our worship life change if we, like David, came before Him with authenticity, directed by the Holy Spirit, if worship and prayer were a sacred blending of our heart’s cries, and if those moments were lingering and longed for?

Lord, let my prayers be set before You like incense.

Psalm 9:9-10

Fighting Fear

What is fear?

How to fight fear

Foul, Festering Foolishness

Abundance

Rain isn’t all that is abundant.

To recap:

Revival Acrostic

Like Incense

The background on incense

So let’s take some principles from all that.

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series