Confidence

Psalm 120: 1        GW

When I was in trouble, I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me.

The psalmist here has experience with the Lord, enough experience that he is likely confident that if he calls out to the Lord again, he will again receive an answer from God. This is a confidence we all need. Have you ever been in trouble, cried out to the Lord and received His answer? If you have, then you can draw on your own experience for the confidence that He will help you when next you call. For those without personal experience there is still a source of confidence. 1 Peter 10: 34 gives us that confidence, “Then Peter said, “Now I understand that God doesn’t play favorites.” In other words, what God has done for one, He will do for another. This is a foundational Biblical principle. Because God does not show favoritism, then any scripture in the Bible, any story or experience you find there is applicable to your life. You can appropriate any and all Bible promises, including this from today’s psalm, because they all belong to you. So, now you can have complete confidence that when you cry out to the Lord, He will answer you.

Statutory Lamp

Psalm 119: 105

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

This is a long psalm and all of it has to do with the ordinances, the statutes of the Lord. The psalmist knows that peace, strength, and blessing are in the precepts of the Lord. He finds his strong tower and his shield in the law of God. The statutes of God are not laws to be despised to this psalmist. He understands that God has given the law as a means to aid and protect His loved ones. They are life and healing to those who find them. Today’s verse shows that God’s word is a guiding light.

I am reminded of John 8: 31 where Jesus is recorded telling believers that true disciples are those who hold to his teaching. To what teaching does he refer? You could say this means everything which is in red ink in the New Testament but when I read it in light of John 1: 1 & 14 where Jesus is revealed as the Word, and alongside today’s psalm, I know that Jesus meant that we should find him in the Old Testament as well as the new. Today’s passage certainly leads us to that conclusion because safety and light are in those old passages.

Delight in the Lord and in His Word and you are sure to find peace and comfort.

Rocks and Stones

Psalm 118: 22 – 23

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

Today’s psalm has several famous verses in it. I chose this one because of the imagery of it. Among the ideas presented by this verse is the representation of Jesus, the rejected stone, as something hard and unflappable. He is the rock upon which we stand and the stone upon which the whole building is built.

Wikipedia says of the cornerstone, “The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.” As the foundational stone, the integrity of the whole building relies upon the cornerstone. It determines the strength of the whole building.

This is a more important concept than one might, at first, realize. Three of the four gospels quote this passage. It is also quoted in Acts and Paul referenced it in his letter to the Ephesians and it shows up in Peter’s first letter. Consider this from Peter:

[ As Living Stones ] And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. 1 Peter 2: 4 – 8 (See also Romans 9: 32 – 33).

This “chief corner stone” is also the rock of offense over which some will stumble but as for us, we are living stones; stones being transformed into the church of the living God through Jesus who is the principle stone upon which the entire structure depends.

I hope you find this as fascinating as do I. Since we have headed down this path, I wish to share one other verse with you that you may think about differently in light of the foregoing. “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone,” (Psalm 91: 11 – 12). This is commonly thought of a protection verse as, indeed, all of Psalm 91 is, but consider that Jesus is the stumbling stone, the stone of offense. Could it be that one of the angels’ duties is to help us to recognize Jesus as the corner stone so that we do not stumble over him to our eternal peril? At minimum, it is an interesting question.

I hope this Psalm Monday has found you well and that this excerpt from the psalms is a blessing to you. The Word of the Day will resume in October albeit in a slightly different form. We will continue our Psalm Mondays, but the other days of the week will be more brief. They will, as always, focus upon God’s Word as it is the life and breath we all need. I will, therefore, continue to send you a Bible verse daily. My elucidation thereof, however, will be shorter. It should make it easier for you to receive a dose of the Lord everyday without unduly burdening you. There will, of course, be the occasional message that needs a bit more but in any case, the Word of the Day will take five minutes or less to read. I hope this will aid you in your hectic schedules. Of course, I am always interested in your feedback. Simply reply to this email, use the comments section or leave us a comment on the website at https://iveyministries.org.

Laud

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all nations; laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!

This was an easy Psalm Monday. The entire psalm is two verses and every word is wonderful. Two things struck me, though. First, this psalm is directed towards all nations and all people. Think of that. Imagine all the people of the world praising Yahweh, lauding Him with praise. Is that not a beautiful image? That day will come. We can meditate on it now, rolling that image around in our minds. All the peoples of the world will sing praises to the Lord, our God and we will praise Him in unison, many languages in harmony. Wow!

The other part of this psalm that spoke to me was, “the truth of the Lord is everlasting.” I was thinking, “All the people of the earth will know His truth, the fullness of truth.” We will have our questions answered and see truths we never perceived before. His truths are unchanging but still being revealed. Every day we can bask in more and more of His truth. We may find we didn’t have everything right but that is okay too. Our egos do not need to be right in the light of His revealed truth. It will be a joy just seeing more and more of His everlasting truth.

Of course, it is great news that His thoughts are loving and kind towards us. This is an important meditation. It might be the most important part of the psalm. We need this revelation of a God who is always loving and kind towards us. He is not hateful, angry, vengeful, or spiteful. He isn’t trying to kill us. He is salvation and grace. Hallelujah! Surely that is good news to a world struggling with any number of challenges. The ultimate answer is that God’s lovingkindness is great toward us, towards all of us; all people, all nations. That’s beyond good news. That’s great news and He is worthy of much praise. Praise the Lord, all you people. Shower Him, right now, with your message of thanksgiving. Worthy is the Lord!

Peace My Soul

Psalm 116: 7 – 8             TLV

Return to your rest, my soul, for Adonai has been good to you. For You delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

This is a good psalm and I think you will find comfort in many of its verses. I chose these two verses because they shouted to me about the peace we can find in our Lord.

To be honest, it is not always easy to walk in the Lord’s peace. There is trouble in the world. We’ve got problems we’re dealing with and decisions that keep us awake at night. This psalm, though, reminds us of peace we can enjoy when we sink into our relationship with Jesus. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that he gives us immeasurable peace. We have to stop in the middle of our thoughts and remember that he left his peace with us (John 14: 27). In all our reminding, let us be reminded of this from Philippians 4: 7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” God’s peace is so big, so comprehensive that it defies understanding.

Anytime our souls get anxious, we can turn to some of these magnificent verses and remind our inner self to relax, be at peace. Today’s psalm begins with praise and thanksgiving that the Lord, Adonai, hears our prayers. He hears our cries, our petitions, our worries and concerns and He answers and comforts us. Let us, therefore, speak to our own souls the way the psalmist talks to his. “Return to your rest.” Be still and calm O my soul. The Lord has been good to you.

Our God has delivered us. He has been on the site for us in times we don’t even know about. I know this to be true and knowing it helps me to remain confident that I can greet tomorrow in the peace of the Lord for He is with me and will not fail me. He will not fail you either. Let this be your refrain and confession. Bless the Lord.

Mocked and Scorned

Psalm 115: 2        God’s Word

Why should other nations say, “Where is their God?”

This is one of the things which has most bothered me about the corona virus outbreak. No nation has had a bigger outbreak than the United States. My thinking is that we ought to fare well because of our God. Let me show you this same verse from the Passion Translation. It reads, “Why should the unbelievers mock us, saying, ‘Where is this God of yours?’” Does that not aggravate you a little? It bothers me a lot. This great nation, established in and by God is struggling with the viral outbreak. Why?

In the beginning of this, I thought we would get our prayer guns out and defeat this. It hasn’t turned out that way. God gave me a prayer for us to pray. He gave me a vision of what the solution looked like (you will find each on my website, IveyMinistries.org). In my heart and mind, I imagined us combining in fervent prayer with the result being that we would quickly overcome the virus. I feel mocked, like other nations are saying, “Where is their God” and it does disturb me. Whose theology is right? Have I gotten mine wrong?

I believe in my Father, as do you, and I cannot believe He is not eager to move by His great might on our behalf. I strongly believe He is poised and ready. What, then, is holding Him back? Why has He not surged to the fore and slain our enemy for us? I have no doubt that the vision and prayer I received was from our Father. Why are we not seeing this virus seared out of existence? Not only should this nation have overcome this virus, but we should be the force for good to pray for all other nations of the world sending healing and the eradication of the virus for all. I am perplexed and chagrined that this is not the reality we are experiencing. Worst of all, I feel guilty. If God is not to blame, then what is the problem? Are the nations of the world mocking my God or are they mocking me? It is irritating, but mostly because in my heart I fear I am the problem.

Verse 16 of this same psalm reads, “The highest heaven belongs to the Lord, but he has given the earth to the descendants of Adam.” This is the verse that is disturbing. Is God poised but awaiting me? Is that what this new dispensation is about? God within me means I am His hands in the earth? We know that we are to live a life intertwined with God. That means that we don’t run off and do anything in our own strength, but it means, also, that God’s movement in the earth is intertwined with us. That thought is troubling. I welcome your thoughts.

Supremacy

Psalm 114: 7 – 8

Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, before the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of water.

This psalm is about how the earth yielded to the command of the Lord when Israel fled from Egypt. The sea parted, the river stood back, and rocks even produced drinking water. This may be a good meditation for a world overrun by a viral enemy. Everything which has a name must bow to the Lord. That includes mountains, rivers, seas, and viruses.

Tell me, what distinguishes the time of the Exodus from our time? The Israelites saw many miracles. Is there any reason we should not? We seem to experience fewer miracles in our everyday existence but is it true that they are not happening? And, if they are, why are they happening in some circumstances and not everywhere and prolifically?

I do believe this new “Christ in us” life has changed the playing field. The Israelites had an intercessor, someone who spoke to God on their behalf. Moses and Aaron were appointed by God to speak for the people. We, however, no longer need a priest to go before God for us. We have direct access to the High Priest, Jesus Himself. Moreover we have been invited to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace,” (Hebrews 4: 16). We do not have to stand outside the gate and beg admittance or solicit someone else to make intercession for us.

This change is great for us, but I wonder, too, if it doesn’t place a greater responsibility upon each of us as individual priestly servants unto the Lord. God is still on His throne and He is as interested in us individually and collectively as ever. The earth does tremble before Him and rivers will pause in their course. He will even heal a nation or an entire world. But how? And what role do we play in it?

Our God is all powerful and mighty in deed. I want to see His power reigning in the earth. I want to see His victorious triumph. Show yourself, Lord, to a hungry people. Make the earth stand up and take notice of your greatness. Heal the land, Father, and all who dwell upon it. Lead us and teach us to serve your goals and desires. Give the victory into our hand through our faith and devotion to you. Bless your people O, Lord, as we learn to live in Your ways.