Something Greater

Psalm 3: Arise, O Lord! A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; Many are saying of my soul, "There is no salvation for him in God." Selah But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, And he answered me from his holy hill. Selah I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessing be on your people! Selah Psalms 3:1-8 (ESV) WHAT DO YOU THINK? What range of emotions does David describe in this psalm? Is there a progression, or do David's feelings seem random? David was a warrior...he had bravely faced many situations, some even more threatening ...

Legalistic Duty or Delightful Devotion? Psalm 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalms 1:1-6 (ESV) What do you think? God, through this psalm of David, promises blessed prosperity ("happy pushing forward") for all who delight ("find pleasure or value") in His law. Why do the wicked reject this happiness? What is the difference between legalistic duty...

Earthen Vessels A friend, Jeremy, lives in Israel. He was in a small village, inspecting some earthen pots which traditionally were used to store drinking water. His hosts told him that they were considered the best for the task since the water would actually become cooler once placed inside of them without any modern refrigeration – an incredible advantage for inhabitants of arid lands. The very idea seemed too good to be true, but it turns out that the villagers were not making this story up and that this is common knowledge in some parts of the world. While swallowing this bit of information my friend was reminded of a verse written by Paul regarding the ministry of reconciliation between God and man. His thoughts encourage me: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV) Paul was describing how God committed his greatest work into the hands of men formed from the dust – in ...

Worship and Blessing When God created the heavens and the earth, vegetation, animals and man, He blessed them and praised them as very good: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, - Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth...God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, - Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:1, 21-22, 27-28 God blessed His creation, and He continually blesses us all , with breath and life and fa...

Contentment in Giving How did Paul describe stewardship? Paul devoted the entire ninth chapter of 2 Corinthians to the subject of giving and generosity, ending it by describing giving to others as a gift from God: "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15 (ESV) The wonderful goodness of giving to others was a gift that exceeded Paul's ability to adequately describe . Today, I want to focus on four elements that makes giving to others a wonderful gift of God. The four elements rest upon each other, forming a triangle with four layers . Our study in God's Word today will explore this triangle, beginning at the top and digging deeper and deeper into God's Word, uncovering what lies beneath, until we see God's grace supporting it all. At the top of the triangle is cheerfulness: "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians...

Just the facts, ma'am... What are some of the facts that support Paul's case in Romans 4 that Abraham is said to be righteous solely because of his faith in the promise of God? Let's go through the fourth chapter of Paul's letter to the Roman church, listing just the facts: Abraham had nothing to boast about. Scripture says that Abraham believed God, and that it was counted to him as righteousness. Our society distinguishes between gifts and wages. David spoke of the blessings of God granting righteous status to even one who is lawless and sinful. Righteous status was granted to Abrahm before he was circumcised. Circumcision is a sign of undeserved righteousness. The promise of power and influence over the earth was given to Abraham and his descendents did not come through keeping the law. Law-keeping requires no faith. The purpose of the law was to reveal God's wrath. Without law, there is no sin. God has the power and privilege of gra...

Blessing, not Cursing "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them." Romans 12:14 (ESV) BLESS: eulogeo (to speak well of); from eu (good) and logos (something said, a topic, reasoning, a computation); from lego (to lay forth or relate in words) PERSECUTE: dioko (to pursue, persecute); from dio (to flee) CURSE: kataraomai (to execrate or to doom); from katar (imprecation, execration); from kata (down) and ara (prayer, as lifted to Heaven); from airo (to lift) Bitterness and hate oozes from the heart, poisoning even our words. Perhaps the very best that could be hoped for from the heart of bitterness might be silence... cold, stony silence . But it's still an expression of bitterness and hate. More commonly, every sentence spoken by a bitter heart will have a message, implied or directly stated, of vengeance and a desire to hurt or destroy. A curse is a prayer, a desire of the heart lifted up to God Almighty, asking for God to humiliate and des...