Psalm 25

"Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me,  for you are good, O LORD."

{Psalm 25:7} (NIV) 

David needs God to act on his behalf. We don’t know the specific issue, but we know that if God didn’t act, David would be put to shame in front of his eyynemies. So throughout this psalm are scattered prayers, direct requests for God to act. David approaches the throne room of heaven asking the Almighty God to show, teach and guide his life in God’s ways (vs 4,5). David wants to please God with all his actions. 

He then asks God to remember His own character. Instead of going to God and saying, “Remember all the things I did for You!” David says, “God please remember who You are!” This prayer for action is based on the character of God, not on the character of David. Actually David asks God to not remember him; he asks God to forget his previous sins. What David wants is forgiveness for his sins (vs 11) and for God to act in grace (vs 16), and miraculously free him from the anguish, affliction, distress and personal sin (vs 18). 

You may wonder – is there is anything else, David? Well yes there is. O God, please pay the price for our sin. REDEEM US! Friend may we learn the lesson that David knew well: when you see signs of God’s grace always ask Him for more, for He is truly a gracious God! He is good all the time.

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Psalm 25

"To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God."

{Psalm 25:1,2} (NIV) 

We used to sing this prayer of David in the youth group I attended at Parkdale. It is a wonderful acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and although we have it in English, it is beautiful enough to sing. It contains of course direct requests for God to act on David’s behalf (prayers), and they are reflective portions as David declares the beauty and character of God (which is the gospel). But the psalm starts with actions that people of faith take. Things that Christians do like, lift our soul up to our LORD and tell Him that we trust in Him. What a beautiful way to start our day off. 

Then we place our hope in Him, not just when we pray our morning prayer, but all the day long (vs 5). It is a truth that we look at whoever we hope in, and so if our hope is truly in Him, we will keep our eyes ever on the LORD (vs 15). David knew better than any of us the importance of a refuge in a time of battle. He would run to a safe place and there find safety (vs 20), and live to fight another day. 

A Christian’s refuge is in the Person of Christ. We take refuge in Him by obeying His Words. Only when we obey do we stand on the Rock (Mt 7:24). Only when we obey are we gathered under His wings (Ps 91:4; Mt 23:37). 

Oh friend, may we take lift our soul to our God this day. May we hope in Him, fixing our eyes on Him and obeying His Words, knowing that He and He alone is our refuge.

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Psalm 85

"The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest."

{Psalm 85:12} (NIV) 

At the core of one the most beautiful pieces of poetry in the Bible, and therefore in the entire world, is the absolute belief of the poet in the goodness of God, and the belief that His goodness will be shown to us now in our life in this sinful world. This is faith! 

Out of this absolute belief in the goodness of God for this life, wells up a celebration of the character of God and the impact His character has upon our lives on earth. Love and faithfulness meet in the character of God! Righteousness and peace kiss each other in the character of God! Faithfulness springs from the earth and the land yields its harvest. Righteousness looks down from heaven, then goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps, as He comes to shower His peace and blessings upon us. 

The LORD will give us what is good today because He is good! He is faithful to us. He works for our benefit. He is loving toward us. His mercies are new this morning and every morning. His love will never fail; it will never end. 

Oh friend, how is our faith this day? Do we believe in the goodness of God? Have we seen his hand of mercy and heard His voice of cheer?

O Heavenly Father, increase our faith this day. Give us eyes of faith that see your acts of love. Give us ears of faith that hear your still small voice of love.

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Psalm 85

"I will listen to what God the LORD says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—but let them not turn to folly."

{Psalm 85:8} (NIV) 

Prayer is as much about listening to God as it is about begging Him to listen to us. We desire salvation. We desire to see God’s hand save us from the predicaments we are in. We remember that He has saved us in the past, and we remember that His anger towards us is over, so we just plain out ask Him: “Show us your unfailing love; demonstrate your love for me God. Save me, help me, work a miracle on my behalf.” Then we listen, and we hear God say: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”Jn 14:27 BUT the promise of peace comes to those who abide in Him, those who remain in Him, those who obey Him, those who fear Him, and who bring glory to His Name. 

May we be like this faithful poet who listened to the whole message of God, and didn’t fall into the trap of only hearing peace. Peace when there is no peace without obedience. May we not turn to folly today, may we fix our eyes on our Lord, pray for His salvation, then take up our cross and follow Him.

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Psalm 85

"Show us your unfailing love, LORD, and grant us your salvation."

{Psalm 85:7} (NIV) 

He wants the LORD to save him. This is the heart of this beautiful prayer. It is the desire, the deep desire of the poet. Is this not the heart, the desire of every Christian? Do we not desire eternity with God more than anything else? Do we not also desire to see God’s hand save us from the predicaments that we find ourselves in today? 

As we pray for the LORD’s salvation in our lives today, may we follow the pattern laid out in this psalm. Let us start by thanking the LORD for His past works of salvation, for He is a mighty God, able to save, able to move heaven and earth, to perform miracles, to change the course of history! 

As we think back over His works of salvation recorded in the Bible, let us also dwell on His work of salvation in our own lives. It was He who convicted you! It was He who spoke Words of love into your heart! It was He who died for your sins! It was He who forgave your sins in Jesus’ Name! He who did all that for you, will graciously give you all things. Let us remember that His anger with us ended on the day we were united with His Son. Remember the beautiful words the Father spoke aloud so that all of creation would hear (not once but twice): “this is my Son whom I love” (Mt. 17:5). 

Oh the bliss of that joyous truth that we are in Christ, and He is in us. It is a truth worth remembering that His anger ends for those who are united with Christ through faith, but His love for us will never fail.

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Psalm 107

"He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven."

{Psalm 107:29,30} (NIV)

As we read these verses, I think of the disciples in the boat fearful for their lives; calling out to the Lord Jesus to help them. He spoke to the wind and the waves, and they became still and then the disciples reached their destination safely. 

In our day we tend to think of storms in our lives as creations of our enemy the devil, but this psalm clearly teaches that the storms are the work of God, who is the Lover of our souls. Are we wise enough to understand these things? I know that I am not wise enough to understand the purposes of God in the storms that enter my life and other’s lives. Could we not be content with observing these truths and pondering the loving deeds of our God, who is the great I AM? 

The psalmist doesn’t stop with the storm. He goes on to describe the LORD turning rivers into deserts and fruitful land into waste land, and then turning them back again to their beautiful state. It is not that God is against us, but He is against our sin. He will get rid of our sin and He will bring us safely into our desired haven. 

Friend, do we not want to spend eternity with Him? Do we not believe that heaven is the most glorious place, because it the place where the most glorious God dwells? We say we trust Him with our eternity. Let us trust Him with our today, and our tomorrow. For our God is good and His love endures forever!

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Psalm 107

"He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. ... He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave."

{Psalm 107:14,20} (NIV)

Friend, have you ever rebelled against God’s commands? Have you ever despised His wonderful plans for your life, and struck out on your own path? Have you then found yourself in utter darkness surrounded by the prison you entered by your own will? Did you not call out to God in your distress, and did He not save you? Only a good God, only a God whose love never fails, would answer that call for help from a rebel! 

Friend, have you ever been close to death? Have you ever been afflicted by sickness because of your foolishness, and rebelliousness? Did you not call out to God in your distress, and did He not save you from the grave? Only a good God, only a God whose love never fails, would answer that call for help from a fool! 

Can you remember any of these acts of great love that God has performed for you? Then sing songs of joy, and tell the stories of His great love in your life. Bring perfume and tears, bring money and property, bring yourself and your skills, and offer them all to our great God for His service.

Let us give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love, and His wonderful deeds for mankind.

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Psalm 107

"Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe..."

{Psalm 107:2} (NIV) 

Are you redeemed my friend? Have you by faith been joined to the Lord Jesus Christ? Have your sins been forgiven through the blood of His sacrifice? Are you His today, bought with His blood? Then say so, my friend. Thank God for His loving kindness, His compassion, His grace, and His humility in giving His blood to purchase you from your enemy. 

You are one of the many from all over the earth, who were wandering helplessly, seeking the city of God, but unable to find food or water. You were hungry, you were thirsty, and the LORD heard you when you cried out to Him. He delivered you and then took you by His right hand and is leading you along the straight and narrow way, to your true home of righteousness, the very city of the Most High God.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Mt. 5:6). Blessed were we when we were hungry and thirsty, for our distress caused us to call on the name of the LORD and be delivered from our distress. Friend, why would the Creator of heaven and earth, the Almighty God who lives in unapproachable light, why would the Most High God bother delivering us from our distress?

Let us give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love, and His wonderful deeds for mankind.

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Psalm 107

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. … Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the LORD."

{Psalm 107:1,43} (NIV) 

Have we thanked the LORD for His goodness this day? He is good and His love endures forever. He is good to you today, He was good to you yesterday, and He will be good to you tomorrow. You may say, "John, you are going to have define what ‘good’ means for me to accept what you have just said". Friend, God is good. He is the definition, for all His deeds are loving. He has acted towards you out of love yesterday, He is acting toward you in love today, and He will act in love toward you tomorrow. His love endures forever. 

Many times we perform loving deeds grudgingly, because we have to, because it is the right thing to do. God loves us with action, because of who He is, not because He has to. No one makes Him love you ,friend. He loves you because He made you! He loves all of His creation and extends His love through caring actions. Our Lord told us that God loves His enemies: He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Mt. 5:4)

Oh friend, it is good for us to think on these truths. Those who spend time each day counting their blessings, thinking about the real, tangible, loving deeds of the LORD in their lives, they are the wise ones of humanity.

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Job 38,39

"On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone- while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"

{Job 38:6,7} (NIV) 

We read the news and we listen to our families and we wonder why did God bother to create the heavens and the earth? Why did He bother to create humans? Then we read these verses and realize that God’s perspective is different than ours. The Creator rejoices, the angels sang and shouted; there was a tremendous party in heaven when the LORD Almighty spoke and things were created. Oh how He loves His creation. He cares for every part of it. 

We study the galaxies from afar, but the LORD keeps them moving. We see more road kill then we see live animals, but the LORD feeds every one of them, whether humans are aware of them or not. God must chuckle with pride when humans, that He created, manage to find a ‘new’ species of an animal. New only to us, but intimately cared for by its Creator. 

These two chapters of Job present to us a picture of the Creator’s interaction with his creation. Not a picture of a God who wound up a snow globe and is watching it from a distance. NO - a God who is intimately involved in every part of His creation; the huge task of keeping the galaxies moving, the oceans and tides, the clouds and the rain, and the birds and the animals. 

The more time we spend in God’s created world the more we sense His Presence. The longer we spend in our A/C and cars, and cities (our creation) the less we sense God’s Presence.

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Proverbs 8:1-31

"Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind."

{Proverbs 8:30,31} (NIV) 

When God spoke and all things were created, the first thing that He created was wisdom. From that very first point in creation, wisdom has never left His side. This beautiful poem that personifies what we call wisdom, teaches us a very important lesson about humanity.

Wisdom is more than knowledge, wisdom is more than insight and wisdom is more than judgement. Wisdom is the bringing together of those three qualities to bear on a specific situation or circumstance before taking action. So when God created the heavens and the earth, He first created wisdom, and through wisdom, the all-wise God created this marvelous creation we live in, day by day, piece by piece. 

We are now in the golden age of discovering the wisdom in God’s creation as we examine the far flung heavens, and the tiny building blocks of nature. Yet this science based culture of ours will never accept the truth of Proverbs 8. The truth is: wisdom delights in all of creation and specifically in humanity. God made this world and he made humans part of this world in wisdom. He made them with joy. He made them with delight. He made them with a purpose and a plan. He made them for His Presence.  

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2 Peter 3

"When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them."

{Luke 9:54, 55} (NIV) 

It’s not time yet! James and John had seen our Lord transfigured; they had seen tremendous miracles and they were eager for the Lord to take His rightful place as King of kings on this earth. Their faith was amazing, and was perhaps inspired by the sight of Elijah on the mount. It seems from the context that their motives were righteous, and their desires were holy, but Jesus rebuked them. It’s not time yet! 

Oh friend, this is the day of salvation. This is the Age of grace upon grace. This is still the time of God’s kindness, forbearance and patience. This is still the time for the Father to gaze over the world looking for those He has made, to return to Him in repentance and rest. God is not slow like us, with all sorts of things that stop us from meeting timelines, including built in procrastination. NOTHING can stop God! He can be as swift as He wants, or as slow as He wants. 

The prophets saw the Day of our Lord as one of salvation and vengeance, yet they did not see the 2,000 plus years between salvation and vengeance. How many millions of souls have turned towards God during these thousands of years? How many feasts has our Heavenly Father thrown for lost souls who have come home? How much rejoicing has gone on in heaven as people from every tribe, language and nation, bow their knees and say with us: “Lord have mercy on me a sinner”? Surely in this day and age, this is an hourly event, perhaps even something that happens every minute. Wrath and vengeance are coming but It’s not time yet! Oh friend, praise His holy Name for his kindness, forbearance and patience!

Matt Maher, "Turn Around", via YouTube

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Ezekiel 18

"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"

{Ezekiel 18:23} (NIV) 

How many of us are surprised by this truth? How many of us think that God can’t wait to smoke the wicked; that He is itching to get at them? The truth is that the Bible presents the opposite thought. 

Genesis presents a God who waits for the sins of the Amorites to reach a certain level before bringing destruction to them through His people (15:16); a God who is very slow and deliberate about the destruction of Sodom. Jonah reveals a God who will go to miraculous lengths to see a wicked and violent nation spared destruction. 

Our enemy, Satan, is the one who wants humans to die, God wants them to live! He is the Life-Giver, the Life-Sustainer, and He is the Resurrection and the Life! God is all about Life, and the Bible teaches that repentance is the way to Life. 

The Israelites had started to believe a type of fatalism. They believed that our course is determined by sin of our parents. May we not make their mistake, for this type of thinking traps us in sin and death. There is no such thing as fate or destiny; there is only God and you. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Repent and Live!

Matt Maher, "Hold us Together", via YouTube

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Luke 15

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

{Luke 15:7} (NIV) 

The Pharisees lived in contempt of God’s kindness, forbearance and patience. They rebuked our Lord for welcoming and eating with “sinners”. They couldn’t wait for God to bring destruction upon the “sinners”, and they would never lift a finger to help the “sinners”, for surely they deserve everything they are getting. 

These three famous stories were told by our Lord to correct their contempt problem. He points out to them that we rejoice over finding lost things that have value to us, and God rejoices over lost people who have value to Him. God said the same thing to Jonah about the city of Nineveh; Jonah was angry that God spared them, and God simply pointed out that He has every right to be concerned over the lives of 120,000 people. 

God cares about people. He wants them to Live, and repentance is the only way to Life. We wonder at these 99 people who didn’t need to repent; what does He mean? Who are these people who don’t need to repent? He identifies them in the last story as the older brother who wanted the father to write off his brother. He is talking about those who write off “sinners” and who justify themselves. Those people who act in such a way, spit on God’s kindness, forbearance and patience. May we have the attitude of God! May we welcome sinners and eat with them, all for the purpose of leading them to repentance.

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Romans 2:1-16

"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"

{Romans 2:4} (NIV) 

This is a question worth considering: do we show contempt for the kindness, forbearance and patience of God? Paul lists two behaviours that demonstrate that we are in contempt.

The first behaviour is judgment of the wicked. To make clear what he means by judgment, Paul talks about condemning. This judgment is not the recognition or identification that a person is committing sin and is therefore a wicked person. That type of judgment is wisdom and discernment. But the judgment that Paul is speaking of is the “writing off” of a person; the condemning of a person. As long as that person is alive, God has not given up on them; He is still showering them with kindness forbearance and patience, just as He waited for us to turn. If God acts like that, so should we. 

The second behaviour is lack of repentance on our part. To not turn away from our sin and turn towards God is to show contempt for His kindness, forbearance and patience. It is to waste the time God has given us. It is to take a precious gift from our Creator and spit on it. Friend, the purpose of our alive time is repentance. In repentance and rest is our salvation (Isa 30:15). If we say we haven’t sinned, we lie and make God out to be a liar (1 Jn 1:9). 

Everyone one of us needs to repent. We need inner change. We need to surrender and to ask the Spirit to make us more like our Lord. May we honour our God, and redeem this time He has given us today.

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1 John 2:12 thru 3:4

 "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

{1 John 3:1a} (NIV)

To have your sins forgiven is wonderful. The MERCY of the Almighty God, to forgive us based on the substitutionary death of His only begotten Son, is amazing. God demonstrates His LOVE for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The PEACE that we receive through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is past our understanding. But if we stop there in our thoughts about the truth of the GOSPEL that we were taught, then we have stopped short. It is true that thinking about God’s MERCY and PEACE will bless us, but how much will we be blessed if we consider the whole GOSPEL truth! 

The truth is, is that Jesus rose from the dead and is at the right hand of His Father, and at the same time alive inside of us through His Spirit. The truth is, is that through the Holy Spirit’s Presence in our lives we have become brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus and children of the Most High God. Now that is GRACE upon GRACE. Not content to forgive us. Not content to be at peace with us. NO - that was not enough for our Great God! He went further and made us His very own children. Born again! Born of the Spirit! May we meditate on the truth of His great LOVE for us TODAY!

 Sidewalk Prophets, "Live Like That", via YouTube

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Lamentations 3:1-33

"For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone."

{Lamentations 3:33} (NIV) 

This is a verse to remember! It will stick in your mind as a goad, and will be of great spiritual benefit to us when Satan comes and whispers lies about God’s intentions towards us, following his pattern in deceiving Eve. 

How many times do we think that God doesn’t have our interests at heart? How many times when we say, “I am sure God had a higher purpose”, do we think as we say it that God is sacrificing us for someone else that He loves better? Paul teaches us that all things work for OUR good. In our world, we strive to see win-win, but usually settle for win some lose some, recognizing that people have diverse needs and desires. In God’s kingdom it is win/win/win/win/win…for everyone. 

This book is a testimony of the anger and wrath of God being poured out on his people, and yet Jeremiah knows that these actions of God “against” them, are actually the actions of a loving LORD who is seeking to bring good into the lives of those He loves. In our world and God’s kingdom, a father who enjoys physically disciplining his child is a sadist. The book of Jeremiah presents the LORD as a heavenly Father who is bringing the rod of affliction to bear for the good of His children, not because He wants to hurt them.

I have said too much already...Friend, please memorize this verse. The LORD will use it to speak truth and protection into you against the evil one’s lies.

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