Psalm 27: God's Comfort in Times of Distress

Psalm 27 is a wonderful Psalm that I often look to whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed with the cares of this world. This Psalm happens to reinforce the fact that God is always there for us and that he cares deeply for us.

The Psalm reads: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked.. came upon me to eat up my flesh, the stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident..... (14) wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

So often, we try and take matters into our own hands... And whenever we try and do this, we usually end up feeling distressed and anxious and sometimes fearful. We should never try to handle life's situations without help from of God. He is our rock and our redeemer and He is there waiting to help us through our life. As this Psalm says, The Lord is our helper - He is our light, our salvation, and our stronghold - therefore we have nothing to fear from mortal enemies.

Seek to know the Lord. As Christians, we truly need to know Him better.

A Godly Person pt. 2

Yesterday I wrote a little bit on being Godly people. I had a few more thoughts I wanted to add on...

One thing that Godly people do is delight in the Law of the Lord. If we're truly striving to follow Christ, we need to make sure that our delight is in God's Law and that we respect His word. In addition, we need to make sure that we hold firm to the fact that the bible is the only inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) and that we never give in to false teachings that may come about.

Another thing that falls into the category of delighting in the Law of the Lord, is meditating in the law of the Lord day and night. Psalm 1:2 says, "but his delight is in the law of the LORD and on his law he meditates day and night." If we constantly think and meditate on God's word, we're always going to be more inclined to do the right thing and not give into temptation.

Those who delight in God's law are firmly grounded. We need to make sure that we're steadfast and un-moveable and always abounding in God's work (1 Cor 15:58).

Be Godly in your character.

A Godly Person

As we strive to be followers of Christ, we need to make sure that we're being Godly people. There are things that we need to make sure we are doing in order to stay Godly.

For instance, a Godly man or woman watches the company that they keep. 1 Cor. 15:33 tells us that evil company will corrupt our good habits. An unGodly man associates with things and people who are evil. If we're seeking to follow Christ, we need to make sure that we're hanging out with the right people.

Peter says in 1 Peter 2:9 that people can tell the Godly man from the rest of the world. - The Godly man or woman doesn't participate in the things that the world does (1 John 2:15-17). The worldly man participates in all the things that the world participates in - Gal 5:19-21 gives us a list of all those activities that the worldly man would be participating in. We have to stay away from these things.

Be a Godly person - each and everyday. Delight in God's law and seek Him daily. Don't become like the rest of the world.

There's a Great Day Coming

As followers of Christ, we are confident that there is a great day coming. It will be a great and marvelous day because we will be rid of all the trials of this life. In Rev. 21:4, we are told that in eternity there will be no more trials and tribulations. Won't it be great to not have to live in a world where we are constantly faced with trials and temptations? We will one day be able to rid ourselves of all temptations! Every single day we are tempted by Satan - but we will one day BE WITH God - and no longer have to worry about being bothered by Satan.

We need to keep in mind, however, that this is only a great day to those who seek and keep God's commandments. For those who are not worshippers of the Lord, this will be a very sad day. Rev. 20:10 says that all who are not worshippers of God will be punished day and night forever. Then we are told in the following chapter that they will be put in the eternal lake of fire and brimstone. Don't let that happen to you.

We don't know when the Day will be coming... It could be tonight. It could be tomorrow. It could be 300 years from now... Whenever it is, we need to make sure we're ready. Don't let that day be a sad day for you...

I Am Resolved

We're all very familiar with the song, "I Am Resolved" that is often sung as an invitation song in many congregations. In fact, we probably could sing most of this song without having to look at a song book... But have we ever really given much thought to what the words of this song are really saying?

The word resolved itself means determined. So if you replace resolve with determine, you would get, "I am DETERMINED no longer to linger - charmed by the world's delights. Things that are higher, things that are nobler - these have allured my sight."

This world has so many "charms and delights" that can lead us astray. Hebrews warns us in chapter 11 that sin is pleasurable for a season and Proverbs 16 warns us that the end of sin is death! We need to be having our "sights allured" by the things above. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 6, we need to make sure we're placing our treasures in Heaven above.

The song also says, "I am resolved (determined) to go to the savior, leaving my sin and strife." We should have no desire to live in sin because it is something that separates us from God! We should not be a slave to sin - but rather, leave it behind and GO to the savior!

The last verse of the song talks about following the savior and being faithful and true each day. Christianity isn't about following Christ when we feel like it, it's about doing it each and every moment of our life. Be determined to follow the savior everyday of your life.

Hopefully you've gained a little bit from these thoughts today and hopefully you will sing this song differently from now on.

The Answer to Life's Problems

If you've ever been in a library or a book store, you've probably noticed a large "Self-Help" situation. These are books that many people turn to when seeking help with their life problems.

Let's face it, everyone has their problems. Each person has their own struggles that they go through in their life. - Whether it be spiritual problems, physical problems, marital problems, financial problems, etc. - everybody faces some kind of struggle at one point or another in their life.

Even though we all may have our own struggles, there's no need to go to the "self help" section of the book store to find solutions. The answers to all life's problems are in one book - God's Word. The bible (in some way) addresses every struggle that we could ever possibly go through.

Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

So next time you're facing some kind of problem in your life, instead of looking online or looking in a bookstore for a "self-help" book - see what God's Word says about your problem. I guarantee you won't need to go anywhere else.

Remembering Jesus

Have you thought about the death of Jesus today?

Unfortunately, we often don't think about the death of Jesus on a daily basis. Typically it's once or twice a week or when we take part in the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week. Sure we pray to God on a daily basis and we sometimes say something along the lines of, "Thank you for your son Jesus who died on the cross..." - But are you really stopping to reflect on His death?

Bottom line; we should reflect on the death of Jesus Christ more throughout the day/week. His death has saved us from our sin! Do we recognize where we would be without the sacrifice that was made?? And He went through and endured so much pain - all for our sake! We have life because He died for us. It's an amazing thing to think about.

As you end your day today, and you're in bed, take a few minutes to reflect on what Jesus went through. And when you wake up in the morning, as you thank God for giving you a new day, give Him thanks for His Son's death that has saved you from your sins.

Maybe reflecting upon Jesus' death on the cross is already part of your daily routine - that's great, it's definitely something that we all need to be thinking about each and every day. We can't let it be a "once a week thing."

Spiritual Immaturity

One danger that a lot of Christians fall into, is lack of growth. Sometimes we get caught up in the thinking that, "We've obeyed the gospel, we've done what we need to do, and that we're fine!" As we all know, Christianity isn't that easy. Following Christ is a daily act and choice that takes growth and effort on our part.

Hebrews 5:12-14 warns us of being spiritually immature. "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again in the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of good use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

At this stage in our Christianity, we should be striving to be teachers of God's word - as it says in this passage - not just sitting back taking it in and watching others do it. We need to be careful because there may be times when we are falling behind and becoming spiritually weak and immature. We need to "of full age" as this passage states. Don't become spiritually immature.

He Hears

God has blessed us so greatly with the avenue of prayer. Prayer is such an amazing tool for us to use in any occasion - and as Christians, we should be praying all the time.

Some may wonder, however, if the Lord really hears our prayers? It can be easy to think, "How can I be sure that God is hearing my prayers?" Well truthfully, we have MANY reasons to believe that God hears our prayers. First of all, think about something in your life that you have prayed a lot about at one time - maybe a sick family member, or family problems, or monetary problems, etc - Were your prayers answered? Secondly, we have numerous passages that let us know that God hears our prayers. In Psalm 116: 1-2, it says, "I Love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live." - Passages like this one remind us that God really does hear and care about our prayers to Him. And thirdly, we just have to have faith. Faith is a big part of prayer. People may never understand how we can put faith in something we can't see... But that's what faith is - Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The Evidence of things not seen." In order for our prayers to be heard, we have to have faith that God really does hear them.

Let us be confident that the Lord hears our prayers.

Fulfillment

As human beings, we crave satisfaction. On a day to day basis, we seek to satisfy certain parts of ourself. For example, at around 1pm everyday, I NEED to find something to eat in order to satisfy my hunger. If you work a 15 hour day, when you come home you have to satisfy your body's needs with sleep and rest. The most important satisfaction we need to achieve is spiritual satisfaction and fulfillment. There's a hole in our heart that needs to be filled by God. We are created to be the recipients of God's glory and grace and God is the only adequate fulfillment to our needs.

Ps. 107:9 "For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."

If you're feeling like you're missing something in your life and you need fulfillment, look to God. God needs to fill our hearts - He longs to. God will bring more fulfillment to us than anybody or anything else can.

God is our Refuge

Ps. 46: 1-2 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling."

God is on our side and He is our strength. We need not let troubles of this world drive us to fear, because the Lord is going to take care of us. Even when it seems like things are bad, God is still our refuge and we need to look to Him in every situation we are in.

Be Honorable

1 Peter 2:11-12 "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation."

This passage of scripture that Peter gives us is so valuable. There's so much in these two verses. First he tells us that we need to abstain from fleshly lusts. We know exactly what he is talking about here - there's probably some kind of "fleshly lust" that we each struggle with. He warns us that these things are going to war against our soul. Think about it like this; Why are we afraid of playing with something like fire? Well, that's easy - because of the damage that it can do to our physical bodies. Well, sin has the same effect on our soul - So why don't seem to be as cautious of it?

In the second part of this passage, Peter encourages us to have an honorable character. It's so important that we are always displaying Christ in the things that we do. Our goal needs to be that other people will see/glorify God when they see our works. In order for that to happen, we must always be making sure we're conducting ourselves in a Christ-Like manner.

As we live before the world, let us be honorable and abstain from fleshly lusts.

Knowing God Abides In Us

1 John is one of my favorite books in the New Testament. John focuses a lot on love in this book; the fact that God is love and that we must walk in Love, etc. A particular passage in this book that I really enjoy comes from chapter 4:12-16 where John says;

"No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the World. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in Him."

It is so important that we have love in our lives. Earlier in this book, John talks about sinning and how God does not abide in the sinner. We all want God to abide in us but we have to realize that when we sin, He is not. Once again I'll make the point that sin separates us from God - we don't want this. But Love will help us see God in us and in others. Walk in love everyday.