Convinced

On May 14, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 52: 8 – 9              TPT

But I am like a flourishing olive tree, anointed in the house of God. I trust in the unending love of God; his passion toward me is forever and ever. Because it is finished I will be praising you forever and giving you thanks. Before all your godly lovers I will proclaim your beautiful name!

Yesterday I sent you the first seven verses of Psalm 52. I thought you needed to see how David finished this song. Not only is it beautiful but in the face of adversarial persecution, he stands in the love and the grace of his heavenly father.

The first seven verses have more to do with the wicked people and how God will deal with them. This second part is about us, those of us who put our faith, not in the work of our hands, our wealth or our righteousness, but only in the “unending love of God.” When David turns to thinking of himself his thoughts are filled with God’s love and his love for God. Praise and thanksgiving come immediately to his awareness. His trust is in that love, knowing that God’s love is not only unending, but also passionate. David had a real, palpable awareness of God’s love for him and it altered his life. I so look forward to hearing him sing his praises to our beloved Father and I am going to go stand beside him and join in. I imagine I will never experience any greater joy than I will in that moment. My God is so worthy, and it is an honor to get to praise him.

In this earth, we too can trust in God’s love the way David did and it will protect us. It will keep us calm in the midst of the storm. Even when your Saul or Doeg threatens, God will keep your peace. He will guard your heart and soon you too will be singing your praises to the Beloved One.

I wish we understood how much Yahweh loves us. I wish we understood how real the force of his love is. I wish we all understood how to stand in trust, leaning on our faith in that love. David was hounded and persecuted relentlessly yet a song was never far from his lips, praise in his wake. He says with confidence and conviction that though persecuted, “I am like a flourishing olive tree, anointed in the house of God.” Can you picture what image must have been in David’s mind when he wrote those words? Doeg did evil and of course it pained David. That is why he sought the Spirit and poured out this psalm. However, at the end of the day, David saw himself flourishing under God’s blessed anointing. He saw himself planted in the house of God where his roots went down deep and drew nourishment.

I am very grateful David gave us this psalm. I hope you will find comfort in it. Let all our enemies be on notice. God will rip them up by their roots, but we will be firmly planted in the garden of the Lord, enjoying his anointing.

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Reeds and Oaks

On March 13, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 13: 20 – 21

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Here is the second category of people Jesus identified. These are people who listen to a teaching and are immediately overjoyed. Perhaps they went to a conference, heard a guest speaker at church or even read a book. There initial response to the Word they heard is to embrace it gleefully. They are the one’s saying how good the speaker was. The test will be to see if the Word imparted has any effect in their life or upon their life.

These people don’t have deep roots in either God or the Word so when they hear good teaching, they recognize its value but because their foundations are shallow the Word never takes root in them. Every time a guest minister visits, they get excited, but they never mature because they never do anything with the Word they hear. Because they have no roots, as soon as things become difficult, they fall away. This doesn’t mean they are not people of integrity. They just don’t have a root structure. We have had a lot of rain where I live; I mean a lot of rain. Trees are toppling over because their roots just can’t hold them up in this challenging time. That is what this group of people is like. They begin with enthusiasm but since they are not firmly grounded in the Word, any wind which blows can take them out.

They can also be like reeds in the wind, blowing this way and that with every new wind. Compare the reed with an oak tree. The oak is well rooted, firm and sound. It knows its place and sends its roots deep down. It is anchored and solid. You build tree houses in it and tie swings on to it. It strong and dependable.

Strong roots can only grow in good soil. When the Word finds good soil, then it has stability and permanency. It can withstand the gales of affliction and persecution. People who are not well grounded in the Word will falter when the storms blow. We each must be well-grounded in Jesus. Then we will be able to stand strong and firm.

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