God's Word For Every Day

Here, we have David's spiritual autobiography. God is saying to us, "What about you? Do you have a spiritual autobiography?" Here, we learn about David's distress and David's deliverance. God is saying to us, "Come to Me in your distress. Come to Me and receive your deliverance." This Psalm can be subdivided into four two-verse sections.  vs. 1-2 - his complaint; vs. 3-4 - his confidence; vs. 5-6 - his security; vs. 7-8 - his prayer and his rejoicing.  The Psalm begins with David's distress. Every one of us knows what this is like. We have been where David was. As we look at this Psalm, let's note how David handled his experience of distress. He took it out of his own hands. He placed it in the hands of God.  vs. 1-2 : David's complaint was not addressed to man. He brought his complaint to God. It was not a bitter complaint, spoken against God. It was a humble and honest plea for understanding and help. In the context of w...

Psalm 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd … “ The words are so familiar. When we start to think that we understand all that this great Psalm is saying to us, the Lord comes to with something new, something fresh, something that speaks to our hearts, something that brings blessing into our lives. What are to say about this? ~ From God to us, comes blessing, much blessing. How much blessing? Who can say? All we can say is this – It’s His blessing, and His blessing “overflows” (v. 5).   * Speaking about God – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures,  He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness      for His name’s sake.   * Speaking to God - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemie...

“You transplanted a vine from Egypt. You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land” ( Psalm 80:8-9 ). When we read here about a “vine”, we should remember that Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” ( John 15:5 ). We read here that the vine “filled the land.” Let us pray for our land – “Shine, Jesus, shine. Fill this land with the Father’s glory.”

Burdensome religion and joyous faith are worlds apart. They are exact opposites. “I have to” – How shallow and superficial is “I have to” religion. The man or woman who thinks like this hasn’t even begun to appreciate the great love of Jesus Christ. What a far cry this is from a truly heartfelt and joyful Christian faith! When someone is really interested in something, it’s never a matter of “I have to.” - Does a young man, desperately in love, “have to” meet his sweetheart? - Does a football fanatic “have to” travel miles to watch his team? - Does a music lover “have to” buy the CDs and go to the concerts of his favourite band? - Does a keen golfer “have to” play golf? Do you get the point? The real question is not “Do I have to?” It’s “Do I want to?” It’s much better to do something good because you want to – not just because you have to! Have you begun to appreciate something of the great love of God, which is revealed in His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Chris...

Daniel 2:24-3:12; 2 Peter 1:1-21; Psalm 135:1-12 God is sovereign. He is establishing His Kingdom which is heavenly, eternal and glorious – “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom that will never be destroyed … it will itself endure for ever” (Daniel 2:44). Alongside the sovereignty of God, there is also the responsibility of man – “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fail, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). There is no comparison between the kingdoms of men and the Kingdom of God – “I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods … He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings … and He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to His people Israel” (Psalm 135:5,10-12). From my One Year Bible

Turning to 'the Shepherd Psalm' (Psalm 23), we focus our attention on verse 5: 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows'. We are to feast on God's Word. We are to be filled with God's Spirit. The 'table' is the place of feasting. 'Oil' is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. As we feast on God's Word, we will have good cause to say, again and again, 'God is good': His 'goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life' (6). The Lord never fails us. He always comes with His life-giving Word, the Word of life, through which our life on earth becomes the beginning of life eternal, the pathway to a life in which the fullness of God's love will be revealed in a way that we can hardly begin to imagine: 'I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever' (6). This is what Christ is preparing for us ( John 14:2 )!

Daniel 3:13-4:18; 2 Peter 2:1-22; Proverbs 29:1-9 “The Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:17). It is a great comfort to know that God is sovereign. It gives strength in the midst of the conflict. It’s an unequal conflict – God’s Kingdom will prevail over the kingdom of Satan. We must not, however, doubt that Satan will provide determined opposition – “false prophets … false teachers … will bring the way of truth into disrepute” (2 Peter 2:1-2). However fierce the conflict may be, we have this assurance: “The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the Day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9). In the heat of the battle, we must never forget what we are fighting for and who we are fighting for – ‘To be the best that I can be for truth and righteousness and Thee.” In this battle, the Lord Himself fights with us and for us. He enables us to maintain His standard. He keeps us from dropping down to the level of the world’s st...

“You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel” ( Psalm 22:3 ). God is not enthroned because we enthrone Him. We enthrone Him because He is enthroned.

Psalm 115:1-18 ‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory because of Your love and faithfulness’(Psalm 115:1). We thank You, Lord, that You love us. You love us with a faithful love, ‘an everlasting love’, a ‘love that will not let us go’. Your love ‘never comes to an end’. Nothing can separate us from Your love (Jeremiah 31:3; Lamentations 3:22-23; Romans 8:38-39). What have we done to deserve such love? Absolutely nothing! We are ‘sinners’. We do not deserve to be loved by You. We have done nothing to earn Your love. Love begins with You, Lord. It comes from You. How do we know that You love us? Have we proved ourselves worthy of Your love? No! - ‘God shows His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8). ‘To God be the glory!’

“Show Your marvellous lovingkindness…  O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” ( Psalm 17:7 ; Psalm 19:14 ). The lessons that we discover in the Word of God are lessons that are given to us by revelation. God shows us His “marvellous lovingkindness.” He shows us His salvation. Learning about God’s love and His salvation – There is nothing more wonderful than this. To know that we are loved by the Lord and have been saved by Him – This is what gives us strength to keep on loving and praising Him as we travel with Him towards His glorious Kingdom.

“You transplanted a vine from Egypt. You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land” ( Psalm 80:8-9 ). When we read here about a “vine”, we should remember that Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” ( John 15:5 ). We read here that the vine “filled the land.” Let us pray for our land – “Shine, Jesus, shine. Fill this land with the Father’s glory.”

"But You, O Lord, remain forever" (Psalm 102:12). Times change - but our God doesn't change. He's unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable - in His great love for us. His love doesn't come and go - sometimes up, sometimes down. His love remains forever. This is Good News for sinners. We have wandered far from Him - but He hasn't stopped loving us. He keeps on loving us. He's calling us to return to Him. He's calling us to make a new beginning with Him. This is love - and it gives us great hope for the future. Without His love, a New Year is just another year - more wandering around in the wilderness without really knowing where we're going. With His love, everything changes. His love changes everything. We move forward into the future with confidence in this: the Lord remains forever - and His love remains forever. Thank You, Lord, for Your great love. We don't deserve to be loved by You - but You keep on loving us. This fills our...

"I will sing a new song to You, O God... the One who gives salvation... Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving. Sing praises... to our God" ( Psalm 144:9-10 ; Psalm 147:7 ). "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised" (Psalm 145:1-3). The God whom we worship is so much greater than the worship we bring to Him.

The world sings its songs. They do not sing the song of the Lord. There is a song which can only be sung by those who have been saved by the Lord. It is "a new song." It is the song of "salvation." Saved by the Lord, we sing to Him our song of "thanksgiving." We think of what the Lord has done for us and we say, "Praise the Lord!" ( Psalm 149:1 ).

Psalm 136:1-26   ‘His love endures for ever’. This is the great message contained in every single verse of this Psalm. It’s a message worth repeating – over and over again! God’s love is an everlasting love – ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ ( Jeremiah 31:3 ). God’s love is an unfailing love – ‘My unfailing love for you will not be shaken’ ( Isaiah 54:10 ). Let us ‘give thanks’ to God for His love ( Psalm 136:1-3 , 26 ). In His love, the Lord has provided for us ‘an everlasting salvation’. His ‘salvation will last for ever’ ( Isaiah 45:17 ; Isaiah 51:6 ). We must not be like those who refuse to love the Lord – ‘Pharaoh… great kings… mighty kings …’ ( Psalm 136:15 , 17-20 ). Those who reject God’s love will not receive ‘eternal life’. Their future will be very different – the ‘raging fire that will consume the enemies of God’ ( John 3:16-18 ; Hebrews 10:26-27 ).

Psalm 10:1-18 Wickedness seems to be so prevalent. Many ‘renounce the Lord’, saying ‘There is no God’ (3-4). It seems that the wicked ‘prosper at all times’, while the innocent victims of oppression feel that ‘God has forgotten’ (5-11). When it appears that God ‘has hidden His face’, when we feel that He has forgotten us, we must remember this: ‘The Lord is King for ever and ever’ (11,16). Do not judge by appearances. Do not trust your feelings. Everything changes. Nothing remains the same. Everything changes - except God. He is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable in His faithful love for us. We rejoice in this: ‘ Jesus Christ i s the same yesterday and today and forever’ ( Hebrews 13:5 ). Whatever circumstances and feelings may suggest, never forget this: ‘He loved us from the first of time, He loves us to the last’ ( Church Hymnary , 293).

The world sings its songs. They do not sing the song of the Lord. There is a song which can only be sung by those who have been saved by the Lord. It is "a new song." It is the song of "salvation." Saved by the Lord, we sing to Him our song of "thanksgiving." We think of what the Lord has done for us and we say, "Praise the Lord!" ( Psalm 149:1 ).

“I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the House of the Lord.’ Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem” ( Psalm 122:2 ). * Standing – in the House of the Lord! In life’s many trying times, we are put to the test – Will we stand? Will we fall? * Standing – in the house of the Lord! Let’s never imagine that we can stand in our own strength – “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” ( 1 Corinthians 10:12 ). * Standing – in the House of the Lord: We stand when we put our trust in the Lord. We stand when we build our life on Him.

‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of the Lord”’ ( Psalm 122:2 ). Why do we go to the House of the Lord? * We go ‘to give thanks to the Name of the Lord’ ( Psalm 122:4 ). * We seek His mercy for our past sins: ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!’( Psalm 123:3 ). * We seek His help for our future temptations: ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord…’ ( Psalm 124:8 ). As we receive mercy and help from the Lord, we worship Him: ‘Blessed be the Lord’ ( Psalm 124:6 ). In our worship, we ‘look to the Lord our God’, drawing encouragement from His Word: ‘The Lord is on our side’- In Him we have the victory ( Psalms 123:2 ; 124:1-5 ). Rejoicing in God’s blessing, we pray for others: ‘May they prosper who love You’ ( Psalm 122:6 ).

"Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the Lord our God is   holy" ( Psalm 99:9 ). We read about the people who worship God, the place where we worship Him, and the God whom we worship. "Exalt the Lord our God" - We are called to worship God. We are the worshippers. He is the Lord our God. There is nothing special about our worship. Even when we worship, we must never forget that we are never any more than sinners who have been saved by God's grace. When we hear the call: "Exalt the Lord our God", we must always remember this: God is not exalted because we exalt Him. We exalt Him because He is exalted. "Worship at His holy hill" - Why do we think of the place where we worship as a holy place? Is it because we, the worshippers, are holy. No! Let's never imagine that we are more holy than we really are. Any holiness we may have has been given to us by God through Christ ( 1 Corinthians 1:30 ). We are neve...