Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Precious Time That PSALM-One Treasures...
I love what psalm 63:1-3 says
‘O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You.’ His love is better than life. I have seen His goodness in my life and indeed my mouth will praise Him.
I was reminded of the essence of this season of fasting and praying that we are doing. I was so caught up with the dos and don’ts of this fast that it has become a legalistic kind of thing. I have totally overlooked the true meaning behind this fasting. It’s not all about fasting and praying on the stipulated things that we were asked to fast but it’s really for us to focus on spending time with God and praying.
To spend time with God is to give up on things that distract you from spending time with God. It could be fasting from going on MSN if you spend most of your time on it everyday or it could even be fasting from going out with your friends for these 40 days (shopping, watching movies or jamming). Just keep in mind that the main focus is really about spending time with our heavenly Father. Thank God for Joshua who reminded me that God is looking at our hearts and not what we do.
The same goes for prayer. We were asked to pray on 6 items for an hour each day as a way of spending time with God. Pastor said that there maybe times where you may not know what to pray, but he reminded us that God treasure every single second that you spend with Him. So should we pray? Yes definitely, but more than that we are really dedicating that time to God. I believe that God will be the one who would lead you in your prayers as you make the effort to draw close to Him.
Indeed God looks at our hearts and not what we do, we ought to follow the attitude of psalmist in psalm 63. That is to seek Him earnestly even in days that may not be our best because God’s love is better than life, it is the sanctuary that refreshes our soul. Pray and ask God to show you how to live, to teach you how to pray. I pray that we will find delight in spending time with the Lord today.
‘O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You.’ His love is better than life. I have seen His goodness in my life and indeed my mouth will praise Him.
I was reminded of the essence of this season of fasting and praying that we are doing. I was so caught up with the dos and don’ts of this fast that it has become a legalistic kind of thing. I have totally overlooked the true meaning behind this fasting. It’s not all about fasting and praying on the stipulated things that we were asked to fast but it’s really for us to focus on spending time with God and praying.
To spend time with God is to give up on things that distract you from spending time with God. It could be fasting from going on MSN if you spend most of your time on it everyday or it could even be fasting from going out with your friends for these 40 days (shopping, watching movies or jamming). Just keep in mind that the main focus is really about spending time with our heavenly Father. Thank God for Joshua who reminded me that God is looking at our hearts and not what we do.
The same goes for prayer. We were asked to pray on 6 items for an hour each day as a way of spending time with God. Pastor said that there maybe times where you may not know what to pray, but he reminded us that God treasure every single second that you spend with Him. So should we pray? Yes definitely, but more than that we are really dedicating that time to God. I believe that God will be the one who would lead you in your prayers as you make the effort to draw close to Him.
Indeed God looks at our hearts and not what we do, we ought to follow the attitude of psalmist in psalm 63. That is to seek Him earnestly even in days that may not be our best because God’s love is better than life, it is the sanctuary that refreshes our soul. Pray and ask God to show you how to live, to teach you how to pray. I pray that we will find delight in spending time with the Lord today.
Labels: Devotion, PSALM devotions
Monday, March 3, 2008
God Is Both Willing And Able To Save PSALM-one...
Pastor preached on Psalm 62 during yesterday’s service. He was focusing on how a man could find rest in God even in the midst of resistance. He gave us 3 points on how we could rest in the midst of resistance:1. Quiet Acceptance of His Covering
In order to rest in the midst of resistance, we first have to learn the discipline on the quiet acceptance of God’s covering. In psalm 62:1 of the NASB version, it says “My soul waits in silence for God only”. One thing that was interesting about this psalm was that the word ‘only’, appeared 6 times in the NASB version of psalm 62 giving it the nickname ‘the only psalm’.
So what did the psalmist meant when he said ‘my soul waits in silence for God only’?
Well, I felt that his intention was to say that he would only focus and find rest in God even in the midst of resistance. Resting in God is really just spending time and keeping Him company. No matter how big a problem you might be facing in your life right now, no problem is ever too big for God. Even in problems that you are facing with people, know that men are only breath and they are nothing in the light of who God is, for God is the only rock and salvation in our lives.
2. Aggressive Assertion of His Control
In v5-6, it says ‘Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.’ This may seem similar to v1, however note that the mood use different. V5-6 actually shows that the psalmist is making a stand and making a reminder that God is his rest alone. Indeed it is really having the attitude of saying to yourself that ‘in God alone, I find my rest.’
I like what v8 says, ‘trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.’ God doesn’t find our troubles bothersome to Him. Like I said earlier, no problem is ever too big for God so would you trust in him at all times for the solution of your problems. God is the solution.
3. Unwavering Acknowledgement of His Character
In v11-12, it says ‘one thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.’
In these 2 verses, we see that God is a strong and loving God making Him worthy of our rock and salvation. This not only shows that God is able, but He is also willing. These characteristics are essential in making God worthy of our rock and salvation and they must go hand in hand with each other. Now why must they go hand in hand with each other then?
One maybe able (he can be rich or capable), on the other hand he may not be willing to help someone (who is in need). One maybe willing to help but he may not be able to do so (due to the lack of resources of ability).
What makes God worthy of being our rock and salvation is that He is both able and willing to save us. He is our refuge in whom we can find rest in even in the midst of resistance. Would you trust in Him and find your rest in Him today?
Labels: Devotion, PSALM devotions
Sunday, March 2, 2008
PSALM Simple Song...
A simple song of worship was placed in my heart when I read psalm 61.Lead me to God who is my rock
Oh, lead me to God who is my refuge
Lead me to God who is my strong tower
For I will sing praises to Him all my days
For He answered my call
And He heard my vows
Oh Lord, I follow You
Day after Day
For Your love and faithfulness
Is everlasting
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Indeed God is my rock, my refuge and my strong tower and I would sing praises to His name and fulfil my vows day after day. Regardless of where they are, He will protect those who call upon His name, with His love and faithfulness
Let us even have an attitude of praising God even in the midst of trouble.
For His love is higher than the heavens and His faithfulness is higher than the skies. Great is His love and faithfulness!
Labels: Devotion, PSALM devotions
Saturday, March 1, 2008
PSALM Fruitful Branches...
I wasn’t really sure of the background of psalm 60 but with the help of the psalm’s guide, I was able to have a better understanding and clarity of what this psalm is all about. Here’s a little background of psalm 60 from what I have found from the psalm’s guide:A national prayer for God’s help after suffering a severe blow by a foreign nation, presumably Edom (v9). The prayer leader may have been a king. God has promised to be with His people; but in his own wisdom, He seems to have abandoned them. God’s people live a meaningless existence without His presence. They take defeat seriously because divine abandonment is the most miserable condition. The experience of divine rejection brings out a renewed faith and confidence in the Lord.
It is seen in psalm 60 that God had seemingly abandoned His people. But why would God reject His people? Well He was angry with them. The verse to this reason was found in v3, ‘you have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.’
What is this wine that made them stagger? It was the cup of the Lord’s wrath and this wrath was mentioned in both Isa 51 and Jer 25:15.
God may have been angry with His people but know that He is a compassionate and just God. In psalm 60, the psalmist was quick in repenting his sins and responded to this divine rejection by praying as their first recourse. He humbles his heart and believes that it is only through God that they will gain the victory as seen in v12. We should recognise the fact that we are nothing without God. It is only by His spirit that we can do all things but do you put your confidence in Him? Do you trust that God can see you through tough times and vindicate you? If you do, would you seek prayer as your first recourse and not the last resort?
God honours those who seek Him with an attitude of brokenness. Always remember the story of the Vine and Branches in John 15.
For Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
We can do nothing without God…
Labels: Devotion, PSALM devotions
An Original Purpose Forgotten by PSALM...
Psalm 59 highlights God as our strength, our fortress, our loving God. God never fails to let us know that He is our deliverer, our refuge in times of trouble and truly, we are nothing without Him. Yet there are times that we think that we can be someone who is successful and forget about God altogether. We tend to go on our own way when we rely on ourselves.
I was reminded that God created us to love Him and that is our purpose. We are God’s project, His creation and we are called to worship Him. Imagine that you invented something for a specific purpose and for that sole purpose only, how you would feel if someone uses it for an incorrect purpose. The sole specific purpose of the iron is used for ironing clothes but what if someone uses it to cook satay instead? Would you, as the inventor feel a sense of disappointment for the misuse of the iron? This is the same kind of reaction that God is feeling.
As I said, we were called to worship Him and to love Him for this is our sole purpose. We should not be going our own way or forging out or carving out our own lives the way we want it to be.
It is said in Deuteronomy 5:9 that God is a jealous God. Jealous not in the ‘human’ way but rather the expression of letting us know that we must put God first in our hearts. He does not want you to place the wrong priorities in your lives, we are His creation and we are made to love Him. I hope you caught the essence of God’s primary and foremost intention for you.
Do you have a heart of worshipping the Lord God Almighty? If you do, He is more than willing to be our strength, our fortress, our deliverer, our refuge in times of trouble and our loving God. Truly, we are nothing without Him.
Labels: Devotion, PSALM devotions