May 20, 2013

Psalms 5:1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

:2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray.

:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.

:4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You.

:5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.

:6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 

:7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; in fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.

:8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face.

:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue. 

:10 Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.

:11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name joyful in You.

:12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Discouragement is a deep, dark hole. We've all been there. That is where David was when he wrote this. The critics are always there too, not to lend us a hand to pull us out, but to push us further down. When we get to that point, the only thing to do is look up.

In verses 1-3 David looked up and called on the Lord for help.

Verses 4-6 he starts thinking about his enemies.

Verses 7-8 he looks up again and remembers God's grace in his life.

Verses 9-10 the enemies keep coming back to mind, pushing him deeper into the hole.

Verses 11-12 Finally he focuses fully on the Lord for deliverance. 

We, just like David, are like a yo-yo when discouragement comes. Up, down, trusting, trampled, hopeful, hopeless.  It can feel like a roller coaster.

Charles Spurgeon said: "Sometimes we cannot put our prayers into words. They are nothing but a cry. But the Lord can comprehend the meaning, for He hears a voice in our cry. To a loving Father, His children's cries are like music and they have an influence which His heart cannot resist".

God doesn't find pleasure in evil people. 

If you try to fight your battles without the Lord, you will become bitter and cranky, and your face will reflect those things instead of joy.

David calls the Lord "my King and my God". We don't make God King, He is King. We either live as His faithful followers or we live in rebellion.

Some days I just have a short time to do bible study and don’t get through all that I would like. That is why I don’t always post. But I decided that I would start posting all my studies and some will be quite long and some very short. I will try and post the psalms study first for those who are only interested in that (assuming anyone but me reads any of my posts lol).

Pr 18:3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes, and with dishonor comes reproach.

If we do what God expects of us, despite the pull of sin, we gain strength of character. Negotiating with evil wins us zero every time.

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He did.

Rebecca Manley Pippert said: “ We cannot separate His demands from His love. We cannot dissect Jesus and relate only to the parts we like.”

Corrie ten Boom said: “Don’t worry about what you do not understand.. worry about what you do understand (in the bible) but do not do.

Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Lam 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

Is 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Rom 8:28 And we  know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

When you are suffering and God makes you wait, His care may seem imperfect and inadequate. It is neither. There are many different ways to wait, and some are better than others. Trust and love Him. Believe He has only the best planned for you but sometimes we have to walk through the fire to get the best.

Is 29:13 Therefore the Lord said:”Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.

Has your faith been a lifeless ritual rather than a vital love relationship with Jesus?

1 Cor 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,” He catches the wise men in their own craftiness”.

Ps 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.

Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

:4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater then he who is in the world.

:5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

:6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us, he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Is 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Jn 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “ I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Our tendency is to hide from our sin, or at least we try to. We seek refuge in the dark thinking no one, including God, can see. He sees everything. He will bring your sin to the light.

Ps 17:7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand. O You who save those who trust in You from those who rise up against them.

Sometimes when we give to the Lord it is not from our heart. He always gives to us from His love.

Hosea 11:4 I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.

God calls us in to eat at His table, yet most of the time we hesitate to go in wondering what it will cost us. His table is not a restaurant, and even if it was, He has already paid the cost.

Col 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

We become like those we spend time with. How much time today did you spend with Jesus? Would you have said some of the things you said if He were right there with you? He is always with you, and he hears every word you speak.

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on our behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me fullof joy in Your presence.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Ps 37:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

If you keep God first in your life, His good gifts won’t become idols to you.

Lk 21:19 By your patience possess your souls.

Patience is never an easy thing. But it is a choice, just like joy.

Ps 147:5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.

If there were a point where God stopped being powerful or His understanding ended, He wouldn’t be God.