Since our generation so admires human ingenuity and worldly wisdom, we tend to give people praise that only God deserves. A battle is won—and we hang medals on veterans. A degree is earned—and we applaud the graduates. A sum of money is donated—and we engrave contributors’ names on a plaque. An organization stays in the black through hard times—and we grant the CEO a bonus.
Read MoreCategory Archives: God
The Deepest Need
David’s song of the thirsty soul, preserved for us as Psalm 63, may resonate deeply with you. Perhaps you have finally come to the end of rat-race religion. Hopefully, you have decided to leave the hurry-worry sindrome and find complete satisfaction in the Savior, in the worship of Him alone. If so, you are rare.
Read MoreDivine Right
At first glance this list of Old Testament proverbs may appear like a hodgepodge of random thoughts. A closer look, however, reveals a common theme we tend to overlook or ignore, and that is the theme of God’s absolute sovereignty over His creation. By sovereignty, I mean God’s right as the King of the universe to rule as He sees fit—without question, limitation, accountability, or resistance.
Read MoreComfort in God’s Strength
If Martin Luther’s great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” is any indication, he often turned to Psalm 46 for comfort. When you read his story, you can appreciate why. In 1520, after more than three years of conflict with the Church in Rome, the Pope warned Luther in a public letter that he would be excommunicated if he did not recant his teaching that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
Read MoreHuman Failure
We deny it. We fake it. We mask it. We try to ignore it. But the truth stubbornly persists: we are weak and inadequate creatures! Being sinful, we fail. Being prone to illness, we get sick. Being feeble, we get hurt. Being mortal, we ultimately die. Pressure grinds the churning place. Anxiety gives us ulcers. People intimidate us. Criticism undermines us.
Read MoreFind Solace in Nature
David’s songs of inner turmoil don’t offer easy answers; he’s too realistic for that. David had seen the lowest of lows several times in his life, so he knew that counting your blessings won’t work every time. Sometimes, we get so low that no memory will jar us loose from our turmoil. In Psalm 42:6–8, David offers another technique.
Read MoreFacing Fear with Praise
As David faced his fears and expressed them to God in Psalm 27, he began with worship, celebrating the power and faithfulness of his God. Declaration of Praise: The key to the entire song is verse 1. It consists of two similar sentences, each ending with a rhetorical question. “The Lord is my light . . . my salvation . . . the defense of my life.” Interestingly, David says God is all of this.
Read MoreGod Speaks through His Creation
David has packed a lot of great theology into a short space in Psalm 19. Unfortunately, we can hit only the highlights of these fourteen verses because neither time nor space permits us to dig into the depths of each one. However, I urge you to take the outline and use it as a guide in your own, personal study of this magnificent composition. It is a veritable treasure house of truth.
Read MoreGod’s Holiness, Our Need
Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. (Psalm 30:4) We come before You, our Father, and we acknowledge that it is Your holiness that draws us to You. And it is that lack of holiness in ourselves that brings from within us such a hunger to know You better. We affirm with Paul that our determined purpose is that we may know Him. That we may progressively become more intimately acquainted with Him. Oh, God, that is what we want. More important, that is what we need.
Read MoreGod’s Complete Control
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah . . . . The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah . . . . “Cease striving and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:1–3, 7, 10)
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