Psalm 49

17 For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.

The old joke about a hearse pulling a U- haul trailer. "Who said, 'You can't take it with you?'"

Who knew it was from the Bible?

Pray for generosity with your riches. (if you don't think you are rich, ask a villager in Malawi)

Psalm 48

We had heard of the city’s glory, but now we have seen it ourselves—

A common theme in the Bible is to experience something; not just hear about it. This is why feeling God at work in me is such a wonderful sensation. I don't base my confidence in this, but I do relish it. Now that I mention it, if I were to feel nothing when I kiss my wife, I would worry big time about our connection. Why would I expect less with God? Maybe feelings are important after all. Praise God, hallelujah!

Pray that God touch you emotionally this week.

Psalm 47

1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

If you think the Bible is the Word of God then you do what it says in the context of what it is saying. Psalm 47 is a worship setting. I quoted the King James Version just to make sure this was old school. How come my grandma never told me to clap my hands and shout in worship? She loved the Bible. She read it all the time. I just don't remember her reading this to me.

Praise God, hallelujah! I am making up for lost time!

Find a time today to shout to God with a voice of triumph.

Psalm 46

10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

Most religions and philosophies are extremely culturally conditioned. They don't "travel" well. Not so with Christianity. It reaches all kinds of places with all kinds of people. How fortunate that Jesus is adored in Benin and Boston. What a coincidence?

Pray for the influence of the good news of Jesus with people who have not experienced him before.

Psalm 45

7 You love justice and hate evil. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.

God wants us to be like him. To love the things he loves. To hate the things he hates. God gives us the ability to have influence in our lives for the good of others. Justice or fairness is what he wants. The world asks, "Is it legal?" God demands, "Is it fair?"

We live in both of these worlds. make sure you error on the side of God. More joy.

Psalm 44

1 O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:

If you have a dad or had a dad full of stories..."When I was a kid..."- I hope some of those stories are about how awesome it was to see God at work in his life. If you didn't hear those stories and you are a dad- get busy.

Pray for double blessings on dads who share their faith stories with their children.

Psalm 43

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God...

The soul is everything about a person all wrapped up in one. When there is deep depression and anxiety within someone, there is much doubt and despair.

I can face this with or without hope. Well, deep, lasting despair and a loss of hope go together. Hope is what God brings. Rescue is just around the corner.

Pray for a friend experiencing depression and/or anxiety today.

We are not customers, we are Christians

Membership is an invitation to get to work loving God and loving your neighbor

Psalm 42
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.

I don't know how thirsty deer get, but if they are anything like our dogs, there is a lot of lapping going on. I know when I am parched I have a singular focus on water. Preferably cold, but it doesn't really matter. Just quench me.

Pray to just once this week experience God in a like manner.

Psalm 41

1 Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;

God is like any parent. God is sensitive to his children who have the greatest need. Not that he loves his poorer children more, but differently. He is not a doting Father; as he knows that character, strength, and confidence are built up by circumstances. But he is wise. God uses those he can trust with his influence to be helpful with those who are in need. If you have the ability to be of good influence for those in need, God has blessing for you.

Pray to discover those in need that you can connect with most personally this week.

the meaning of the city

God uses us as a blessing right where we are

Bible Study John 7:37-39

practical living Jesus' way

Psalm 34
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.

I never could understand when people get skeptical of people who turn to God when they are in trouble. "No atheists in the foxhole," and such. As if it is a bad thing to cry out for help when you are at your most vulnerable. Unless you are empty of what gets in the way of God how do you get full of God?

Desperate people can also be focused people. Keep looking to Jesus.

Psalm 33
9 For when he spoke, the world began!
It appeared at his command

Science and the Bible say that time is created at the same moment as existence. Therefore there is no logical concept of "before" creation. Without time, you don't have "before." That assumes time. God exists. Always.

Pray that the God who can bring life by speaking, speak to you.

Psalm 32
7 For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of victory.

What do I need to hide from? Nothing can harm me forever with God covering me with his grace.

God gives hiding for refreshment, not for withdrawal from the world. It is not a cruel, evil world from God's perspective. It is a world with cruelty and evil in it that we influence for the good. In the end, we win.

List five good things that are happening in your life right now and think on them throughout the day.

all of life

how much of your life will you allow God to bless?

Psalm 31
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

Where have you heard this before? Yes, from the lips of Jesus on the cross. It is interesting how we have the first part quoted, but not the second. God is the God of truth, but Jesus already knows that about himself. If God is truth then honesty will always bring you back to him if you are seeking other truths. When Christians stray it is not because God has a "truth" problem; it is because the Christian has a problem with wanting to follow the truth.

"When it comes to truth, either there is truth or there isn't. If there isn't truth, then you are still trusting in the truth that there is no truth." Think about this.

Psalm 30

Ps. 30.11 For his anger lasts only a moment,
 but his favor lasts a lifetime!
 Weeping may last through the night,
 but joy comes with the morning.

God is merciful. We don’t get what we deserve. When joy comes in the middle of suffering this is an amazing gift from an astounding God. What can you do but trust he does love you? He does.

Spend some time thinking about what you are doing lately that may be perturbing God. Offer this to him to clear up any confusion.

strong

Ps. 29.11 The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.

 

This psalm has many different signs of God’s power evident in nature. Thunder, floods, lightening…Then we get to the end and we have peace. How? God makes us strong. Not with any superior weaponry, but through reconciliation with God through Jesus. We don’t need to worry about anything. The strength of God makes us strong.

 

Where are you at with your “God strength” lately?

 Ps. 28

1 I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.

      Do not turn a deaf ear to me.

   For if you are silent,

      I might as well give up and die

 

Now we have the opposite concern than yesterday. What if it is God who seems distant and unresponsive? Is God too busy to notice our need? Hardly. Either he is working us out like a trainer or coach, he has other reasons to seem distance, or we are missing his response. What do we do?

Keep bugging him is what I do.

 

Pray no matter what.