Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
28 “Come to Me, all [a]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is [b]easy and My burden is light.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Making and Taking An Opportunity to Learn
What does a parent ask their children after they come home from school?
Some will ask, “Did you learn anything today?”
But many more will say something like, “Did you have fun outside today?”
With regard to schooling, perhaps it does not matter much which question is asked and which priority is therefore being revealed.
But the same question is often asked about church: Did we have fun at church today? What did we enjoy church today? Did God bring us our happiness today?
Instead, we should be asking, “What are we learning of and from Jesus?”
Jesus gives us the great privilege of having the opportunity to learn from Him.
Throughout the Gospels, He speaks in a way that addresses life’s big questions:
Who am I?
Where did I come from?
Why am I here?
Where am I going?
Does life even matter?
Why does life even matter anymore?
Studying Jesus through the Word of God for His Children, Praying to God the Father, knowing Christ as personal Lord and Savior changes the way someone approaches and thinks about these big topics which rest on everyone’s mind.
It refreshes, transforms their perspective on time, on resources, on career, on that kind of person they want to marry or the kind of spouse they want to be.
It does this because to know Jesus truly is to invite Him to be the authority in your life, your family’s and friends. Everything changes as we learn from Him.
Ours or anyone else’s coming to Jesus begins with learning that Christ died for sins once and for all, the righteous (that’s Him) for the unrighteous (that’s us), to reconcile us to God (Romans 5:8-10, 1 Peter 3:18)—and responding to that.
Simply having a head knowledge of this is not sufficient nor equal to believing it, utterly trusting it, and being happily yoked to the one who offers us all this.
Surely, we all know people who are trying to unscramble the riddle of their lives, putting the pieces of the largest jigsaw puzzles in all history together as best they can, and we’ve all been in the same position looking at all our pieces.
But until we are willing to learn from God, the pieces will not fit.
But now we can truly know God, not because of our intellectual prowess but because God chooses to make Himself known through the truth of His word.
Are you and I fully willing to learn from Jesus in every area of our lives?
Do you see it as a privilege, and not a burden, to follow His teaching and place yourself under His authority?
Be sure to seize every opportunity to learn real gospel truth, and may it cut deep into your soul, satisfy your heart’s longings and transform your life day by day.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd, I [a]shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside [b]quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death, I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You [f]have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will [h]dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, 4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
People say time flies when you’re having fun.
But when things shift into a minor key, life seems to move in slow motion.
We find ourselves thinking, “Where is God now? I don’t know if I’m ever going to get out of these circumstances. And I don’t know how I can endure them.”
Our reading today, Psalm 13, contains a recurring question: “How long? How long?” David’s circumstances aren’t described, but he clearly feels forgotten and forsaken—a feeling we all can relate to.
It’s circumstance akin to what we feel when we lose a loved one or when we feel we are stuck in life drudgery, that we must walk through a valley of trial alone.
To be isolated from human relationships is, without question, crushing.
But what David writes and sings of here in Psalm 13 is even more significant.
He’s expressing a bottomless feeling of isolation from God Himself.
This sentiment is shared by many of God’s people throughout Scripture.
In Isaiah, God’s exiled people cry out, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me” (Isaiah 49:14).
Christian pilgrims—genuine followers and servants of Jesus—do sometimes feel like saying, “I believe the Lord has actually forgotten us.
If He has not forgotten us, if He was still with us, how would we be in this predicament?
If He truly was watching over us, surely we would not have to endure these ceaseless, unyielding trials.
Yet in David’s emerging depression, we discover that his perception (as is often the case with our own) does not reflect reality.
And David has the spiritual maturity and humility to acknowledge that what he feels is true does not align with what he knows is actually true.
So he reminds himself of God’s steadfast love, His salvation, and His generosity—and David resolves to rejoice in those things instead even as he struggles and suffers (Psalm 13:5-6).
This is the hope-filled tension of the Christian life.
As we get stuck, as we stare long and hard into the drudgery of life and ministry and mission and church in the 21st century, and wonder of God, do we see hope?
We keep asking, “How long, Lord? Where are you, God?” even as we remind our own hearts that God has not stopped loving us, delivering us, or working in us?
Where is Your Hope?
Proverbs 11:4-8 New American Standard Bible 1995
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. 5 The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed. 7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong men perishes. 8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, But the wicked [a]takes his place.
In a worship song from the early 2000s, singer/songwriter Brian Doerksen sings, “Jesus, hope of the nations/ Jesus, comfort for all who mourn/ You are the source of heaven’s hope on earth.”
As believers in Christ, we recognize and worship Jesus as the true hope of the world, and yet it’s astounding how often we pin our hopes on human beings.
In all of our history books, it is clear that people are inclined to find more hope in their leaders, politicians, and celebrities rather than in the one true God.
Why do we do this?
These timely timeless words from Proverbs warns that placing hope in humans is infinitely worse than futile because any human power will come to nothing.
As the apostle Paul tells us, “There is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1).
By saying this, Paul is assuring believers that in all situations, even in the midst of national turmoil’s and global crises, God is the # One who holds all authority.
Any human who has “power” has it only because God allows it to be so.
In other words, our hopes and desires must lie with the One who is on the throne of the universe.
Our prayers must be exclusively oriented toward Jesus Christ, for he is truly the only hope—the only resurrected one, the one who can change minds, transform hearts, disperse principalities and powers, can bring restoration and revival.
Do not believe the lie of abandonment that your emotions can feed you.
Please just make an honest and concerted effort to rest in God’s comforting response to His forgetful people:
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:15-16).
God’s care for His children is like the sun: it’s constant.
Even when the clouds obscure it, it’s still there.
It’s always going to be “still there.”
Will you trust in God’s constancy today?
When you are next feeling forsaken, know that God looks at His hands, engraved with each and every one of His children’s names, and He says,
“There you are. Do you see now that I have not forgotten you?” (John 19:30)
30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 24 New American Standard Bible 1995
The King of Glory Entering Zion.
A Psalm of David.
24 The earth is the Lord’s, and [a]all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers. 3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul [b]to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And [c]righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 [d]This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. [e]Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O [f]ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! 8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O [g]ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; [a]Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. 6 Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been [b]from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the [c]humble in justice, And He teaches the [d]humble His way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. 11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. 13 His soul will abide in [e]prosperity, And his [f]descendants will inherit the [g]land. 14 The [h]secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, [i]And He will make them know His covenant. 15 My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will [j]pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted. 17 [k]The troubles of my heart are enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses. 18 Look upon my affliction and my [l]trouble, And forgive all my sins. 19 Look upon my enemies, for they are many, And they hate me with violent hatred. 20 Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all his troubles.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
From Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Psalm 25:3 …
“In worshipping God, we must lift up our souls to him. It is certain that none who, by a believing attendance, wait on God, and, by a believing hope, wait for him, shall be ashamed of it. The most advanced believer both needs and desires to be taught of God. If we sincerely desire to know our duty, with resolution to do it, we may be sure that God will direct us in it. The psalmist is earnest for the pardon of his sins. When God pardons sin, he is said to remember it no more, which denotes full remission. It is God’s goodness, and not ours, his mercy, and not our merit, that must be our plea for the pardon of sin, and all the good we need. This plea we must rely upon, feeling our own unworthiness, and satisfied of the riches of God’s mercy and grace. How boundless is that mercy which covers for ever the sins and follies of a youth spent without God and without hope! Blessed be the Lord, the blood of the great Sacrifice can wash away every stain.” https://www.christianity.com/bible/esv/psalm/25-3
Shame is different from guilt.
Shame: a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.
Guilt: the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime. The fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and which is involving a specific penalty according to the seriousness of that breach of law.
If you are guilty, you did something wrong, and you realize you are responsible for it.
You can feel shame from being guilty, but feelings of shame are not always tied to guilt.
Shame has more to do with a lack of self-worth, and that can come from not measuring up to a standard, from feeling insecure, from being bullied or abused in various ways, from public disgrace, ridicule, and more.
When you are ashamed, you may or may not have done something wrong, but when others see you, you feel exposed, dirty, vulnerable, unworthy of respect.
When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they realized they had done wrong.
They saw that they were naked and vulnerable.
They were exposed and felt shame.
They tried to cover up and hide behind trees. But they couldn’t hide from God—and that was a good thing, because God loved them and valued them, despite what they had done wrong. God loves us all too, despite any bad we have done.
Matthew 26:26-29 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord’s Supper Instituted
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and [a]after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
John 19:28-30 New American Standard Bible 1995
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, *said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Jesus came to permanently take away the guilt and shame of our sin.
And he did that by taking on the most shameful death possible: crucifixion on a Roman cross.
He hung there naked, in public disgrace, exposed to the abuse of the jeering crowd.
And yet he was innocent.
Luke 23:46-48 New American Standard Bible 1995
46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was [a]innocent.” 48 And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, [b]beating their breasts.
“He endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2), so that we can be, now and forever more, permanently freed from all shame, live fully with him.
Now, because of Jesus, we are forever clean.
In the name of God, the Father and God, the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 119:25-32 New American Standard Bible 1995
Daleth.
25 My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. 26 I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; Teach me Your statutes. 27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders. 28 My soul [a]weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word. 29 Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Your law. 30 I have chosen the faithful way; I have [b]placed Your ordinances before me. 31 I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame! 32 I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.
My Lord and My Savior Jesus, My Alpha and My Omega, My first and last, thank you for taking on the shame of all the world to free us from shame forever. In your name,
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [a]cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Across ethnic, linguistic, and geographical boundaries, children and even adults of all ages everywhere continue to enjoy the fun of playing hide-and-seek.
It is a universal and innocent game.
But the first game of hide-and-seek in this world was neither fun nor innocent.
It was something deadly serious, it came with serious and severe consequences.
After Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden, they hid from each other behind fig leaves and from their Creator behind the trees of the garden.
They unsuccessfully attempted histories very first cover-up—and God came walking in the garden, seeking them with a simple question: “Where are you?”
This revealing question turns on its head the common assumption that man is naturally looking for God, who is hiding somewhere in or beyond the universe.
Instead, we discover the opposite: we are the ones who are hiding, whose first, most natural inclination is to hide and God is the one who comes seeking.
The question may seem like a strange one for God to ask these first humans.
After all, doesn’t God know everything already?
But God asked where Adam and Eve were not so He could gain new information but because He wanted to help them come to grips, understand their situation.
God came to draw them out more than to drive them out.
As much as it is possible for our finite thought processes, imagine the many ways God could, should have reacted in response to Adam and Eve’s rebellion.
If He had responded strictly in judgment, He could have instantaneously brought about the sentence of death He had warned them of (Genesis 2:16-17).
But it is in God’s nature always to have mercy; so He came instead with a single question.
This is the first glimpse of God’s grace after humanity turned their backs on Him.
God did not immediately give them what they justly deserved; rather, out of His immense kindness, instead He granted what was not deserved: an opportunity to respond with above board honesty, with integrity and in truth and to return.
That is not what happened here – instead they responded with the blame game.
We immediately hide behind our excuses, none of us would feel comfortable if those closest to us could see all of our deepest thoughts and previous actions.
We may hide the truth from each other, and perhaps even from ourselves.
But to hide from God is futile.
There is simply no way to hide and nowhere to shift the blame to.
Psalm 139:1-12 New American Standard Bible 1995
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You [c]scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will [g]overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” 12 Even the darkness is not dark [h]to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
We cannot hide our thoughts, we cannot hide ourselves from God -we must not believe the lie that God won’t see the “little” sins we keep hidden from others.
He sees.
Ultimately, He sees into our souls and knows exactly what we have done and where we stand.
1 Samuel 16:6-8 New American Standard Bible 1995
6 When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [a]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
Wonderfully, we do not need to pretend that we can hide.
He comes to us in mercy, not in judgment, for
“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).
Are you burdened by some besetting sin or secret shame?
Are you seeking to hide from God what you have been hiding from others?
There’s never been a better time to stop hiding from Him. Step into the light.
32 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
3 When I kept silent about my sin, my [b]body wasted away Through my [c]groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My [d]vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah. 6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g]in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with [h]songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. 9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. 11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.
Uncover what cannot remain hidden before Him—so that He might cover it with His blood and so that you might know you are both known and forgiven.
Psalm 32:1-2 Easy-to-Read Version
A maskil of David.
32 It is a great blessing when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done, when their sins are erased.[a] 2 It is a great blessing when the Lord says they are not guilty, when they don’t try to hide their sins.
How genuinely blessed did you feel yesterday?
How genuinely blessed do you feel today?
How confident are you that you will feel genuinely blessed tomorrow?
Psalm 139:23-24 Easy-to-Read Version
23 God, examine me and know my mind. Test me and know all my worries. 24 Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a] Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]
He is a compassionate kind and saving God who desires a relationship with us.
How much do you genuinely believe this?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 103 New American Standard Bible 1995
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; 3 Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; 4 Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; 5 Who satisfies your [a]years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
6 The Lord performs [b]righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. 8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who [c]fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who [d]fear Him. 14 For He Himself knows [e]our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer. 17 But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who [f]fear Him, And His [g]righteousness to children’s children, 18 To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them.
19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His [h]sovereignty rules over [i]all. 20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! 21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will. 22 Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [a]cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
“Where are you?”
God asks Adam as he quietly strolls through the garden as if he is automatically expecting to encounter the eagerness of Adam, the sight of Adam seeing Him.
But, something is off, the automatic encounter does not seem to be automatic.
What are we to make of this happenstance, the absence of this automatic sight?
The absence of this “naturally” automatic encounter between man and God?
Perhaps these questions are not much about where Adam and Eve are hiding?
Perhaps something significantly bigger than that is happening here?
Please consider …
Genesis 1 and 2 give the glorious account of our creative God busy creating everything—including us human beings.
Then Genesis 3 tells of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, their fall into sin, which now infects all of us.
The fruit looked delicious and desirable, but all it revealed was that they were naked. They tried to hide from God in their shame, making simple garments of fig leaves. Where were they? To answer God’s question, they were both lost and they did not even have the awareness to know it and less awareness to act on it.
God’s footsteps echoed in the garden, and his voice boomed, “Where are you?” God knew, they did not know it – God knew they needed to know they were lost.
God began to quietly enlighten them …
“Who told you that you were naked?”
God asked.
Not roared lest the undefinable power of his anger rips them limb from limb. (Psalm 29:1-9)
The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.
A Psalm of David.
29 Ascribe to the Lord, O [a]sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory [b]due to His name; Worship the Lord in [c]holy array.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The Lord is over [d]many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful, The voice of the Lord is majestic. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the Lord hews out [e]flames of fire. 8 The voice of the Lord [f]shakes the wilderness; The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
Like naïve naughty children, they automatically tried to use the blame game.
“The woman you put here gave me the fruit,” whimpered Adam.
“The serpent (you made) fooled me,” Eve whined.
Today in such moments and our circumstances God still asks, “Where are you?”
Today, in such moments and our circumstances, God is yet looking and he is always in our immediate neighborhood, always very close by, still strolling.
I heard it when I was in my hospital room, looking at the digital clock on the wall counting down the seconds and the minutes until my open heart surgery.
My heart was in desperate need of the kind of repair only my surgeons could give me, there was no place to hide, any running could give me a heart attack.
I was out of options, had no control over my life, lost, vulnerable, and scared.
I picked up my phone and went to my bible app and started at the beginning.
God strolled into my garden where my very life hung in the balance, where as I was reading Genesis 3 that one haunting question suddenly turned comforting.
He was not out to get me into chastising me but to remind me the promise that he’d provided a Savior, his Son. “Stay where you are. I’ve sent my Son for you!”
In that life or death moment, in the indescribable magnitude of my uncertainty, God strolled in unannounced through His Holy Scriptures and God assured me.
Psalm 29:10-11 New American Standard Bible 1995
10 The Lord sat as King at the flood; Yes, the Lord sits as King forever. 11 [a]The Lord will give strength to His people; [b]The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Do you know this God, do we know this timeless and immutable truth from the Word of God, spoken from the mouth of God, who always desires to be with us?
Psalm 29:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.
A Psalm of David.
29 Ascribe to the Lord, O [a]sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory [b]due to His name; Worship the Lord in [c]holy array.
Do we ever so “naturally” automatically turn to the Word of God to hear Him speak to us, to so automatically glorify his immediate proximity to our lives?
Blessedly Assured, Reassured, Standing in Plain Sight on the Promises of God?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 23 Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. 12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever. 13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the [a]depths of [b]Sheol.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
It’s another beautiful day to gather together, to connect, to learn, and to grow in our faith.
This devotion explores the importance of embracing and living in truth, as it shapes our lives, guides us, and ultimately sets us free.
Today, we are here to talk about living with truth and authenticity in our Christian lives.
Now, I know that’s a big topic.
It’s something we all grapple with, in big ways and small.
But it’s also something that’s so crucial to our faith, to our walk with God, and to our relationships with each other.
The late great Christian author, Ethicist, Dr. Christine D. Pohl said it well:
“We don’t always notice how profoundly our expectations, desires, and practices are … shaped by our culture. We bring the values of self-actualization, individual success, consumption, and personal freedom—and the choices that result from them—to church life, just as we bring them into family and work. . . This is not a promising recipe for strong or lasting communities.”
And how true that is.
We bring many false narratives from the world into our community here.
We bring the values and the ideologies of a culture that is far from God into a community that is meant to represent the nature of God.
A community of forgiveness, kindness, and truth-telling.
Let’s take a look at the Scriptures that will guide our devotion today.
The first is from Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
The second is from John 8:31-32, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'”
These passages remind us that truth isn’t just something we know.
It’s something we live.
It’s something we hold to.
It’s something that shapes us and frees us.
It’s something that God teaches us, and something that we’re called to live out in our lives and in our communities.
So, let’s talk about the importance of living truthfully…
The Importance of Living Truthfully
Living truthfully is a calling that echoes throughout the Scriptures.
It’s a calling that’s woven into the very fabric of our faith.
It’s a calling that’s as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago.
It’s a calling that challenges us, that shapes us, that frees us.
When we think about living truthfully, we often think about honesty.
We think about telling the truth, about not lying or deceiving.
And that’s certainly part of it.
But living truthfully is about so much more than just honesty.
It’s also about authenticity.
It’s also about integrity.
It’s about being true to who we are, to who God has created us to be.
In Psalm 86:11, the psalmist prays, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
This is a prayer for truthfulness.
It’s a prayer for a heart that’s undivided, a heart that’s fully committed to God, a heart that’s authentic and true.
And then in John 8:31-32, Jesus tells his followers,
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Here, Jesus is talking about a truth that’s more than just facts or information.
He’s talking about a truth that’s lived, a truth that’s embodied, a truth that unleashes us, a truth sets us free.
So, what does this look like in our lives?
How do we live truthfully?
First, living truthfully means living with integrity.
Integrity is about being the same person in all situations.
It’s about being the same person on Sunday morning as you are on Saturday night and continuing being that self same person on Monday thru Friday too.
It’s about being the same person in public as you are in private.
It’s about living in a way that’s consistent with our beliefs, with our values, with our faith.
Second, living truthfully means living authentically.
Authenticity is about being true to who we are.
It’s about not pretending, not putting on a mask, not trying to be someone or something we’re not.
It’s about being gut honest with ourselves, with God, and with others about our strengths, our weaknesses, our successes, our failures, our hopes, our fears.
Third, living truthfully means living transparently.
Transparency is about being open, being vulnerable, being real.
It’s about letting others see us as we really are, not as we wish we were. It’s about sharing our struggles, our doubts, our questions, our joys, our victories.
Finally, living truthfully means living faithfully.
Being faith-filled, faithful to God, the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit.
Faithfulness is about being true to our commitments, our promises, our word.
It’s about being reliable, being trustworthy, being dependable.
It’s about showing up, sticking it out, staying the course.
Living truthfully is not even minimally easy.
It’s not even minimally comfortable.
It’s not even minimally convenient.
But it’s absolutely, maximally, utterly, worth it.
It’s worth it because it’s what we’re called to do.
It’s worth it because it’s what brings us closer to God.
It’s worth it because it’s what sets us free.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today, eager to learn, eager to grow. We ask that you would guide our conversations, that you would open our hearts to your truth, and that you would help us to live it out in our lives. We ask for your wisdom, your guidance, and your love as we study, talk about these important topics. Amen.
A Psalm of Supplication and Trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me; For I am afflicted and needy. 2 Preserve my [a]soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to You I cry all day long. 4 Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. 6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; And give heed to the voice of my supplications! 7 In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, For You will answer me. 8 There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, Nor are there any works like Yours. 9 All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name. 10 For You are great and do [b]wondrous deeds; You alone are God.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. 12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever. 13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the [c]depths of [d]Sheol.
14 O God, arrogant men have risen up against me, And [e]a band of violent men have sought my [f]life, And they have not set You before them. 15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and [g]truth. 16 Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your handmaid. 17 Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, Because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Sometimes the Bible is described as a long range telescope.
A telescope is not something to look at but an instrument to look through.
When we do, what is far away or hard to see becomes clearer, focused, to us.
When we look at life, time and history through the lens of the Bible, what once seemed distant and hard to understand comes into focus.
Through Scripture we are brought close to God.
Through Scripture we are brought near to events that happened thousands of years ago.
We zoom in, for example, on the life of Christ, who became human and came to live among us (John 1:14).
John 1:14 The Message
14 The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
Jesus wanted the people of his day to believe in him as the One who reveals the truth about God and what God is doing in this world.
But instead they wanted to hang on to old legalisms, refusing to admit that they were slaves to sin and could not keep the law perfectly.
Jesus repeatedly urged them to accept him as the eternal truth and life who could bring them out of this slavery and give them new life forever with God.
Are we any different?
As we daily encounter the Word of God, we must accept God on his terms, not ours.
By relying on the Spirit’s help, God speaks to us and breathes into us his life and truth.
That truth sets us free-free to serve him in our daily work, play, relationships, and every other facet of life.
Liberated by Truth: The Path to True Freedom
John 8:31-32 English Standard Version
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
In the words of Jesus found in John 8:31-32, we discover a profound invitation to true freedom—a freedom rooted in the transformative power of His truth.
Let us embark on a journey to understand the liberating truth that sets us free and transforms our lives.
Point 1: Abiding in Truth
John 8:31 (NLT)“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.'”
Jesus establishes the foundational principle for true discipleship—abiding in His teachings.
The transformative truth is that genuine discipleship involves a continuous commitment to live according to the truth revealed by Christ.
It’s not merely hearing the words but faithfully practicing them, allowing the truth to permeate every aspect of our lives.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the transformative nature of abiding in truth, saying,
“The truth is not something outside of us. It is written in our hearts. The truth is in the inward parts. It is in our hearts.”
James 1:22 (NLT) – “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”
Point 2: Discovering True Freedom
John 8:32 (NLT) “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus declares a profound promise—that knowing the truth leads to genuine freedom.
The transformative truth is that the freedom He speaks of goes beyond external circumstances; it’s a liberation of the soul.
True freedom is found in understanding and embracing the reality of Christ’s teachings, which transcends the limitations imposed by sin and falsehood.
J.I. Packer reflects on the transformative power of truth, stating, “There is no change of heart without a change of mind.”
Galatians 5:1 (NLT) – “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
Point 3: Walking in the Light of Truth
Scripture: John 8:12 (NLT)
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.'”
Jesus identifies Himself as the light of the world, and following Him means walking in the light of truth.
The transformative truth is that Christ’s teachings illuminate the path of life, dispelling the darkness of ignorance and sin.
Walking in this light not only brings freedom but also leads to the fullness of life found in Him.
John Piper emphasizes the transformative impact of walking in Christ’s light, saying,
“Following Jesus means we abide in His word, and in His word, we find the light that leads to eternal life.”
Psalm 119:105 (NLT) – “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
John 8:31-32 reveals the transformative truth that leads us to true freedom—abiding in Christ’s teachings, discovering freedom through truth, and walking in the light of His word.
As we embrace this truth, may we experience the liberating power that sets us free and transforms us into disciples who faithfully follow the path of Christ.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ continually lead us into the freedom that comes from walking in His truth. Amen.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 119:9-16 New American Standard Bible 1995
Beth.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. 10 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. 11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, [a]As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts And [b]regard Your ways. 16 I shall [c]delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, 18 or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Love Thy Neighbor as You Love Thy God and Savior?
We don’t often think of people in terms of enemies and foes, and so when we come to read and study verses like these in Proverbs it may be hard to relate.
For this reason, let me bring it down to a level you may understand.
Are there people in your life who you just don’t like or really can’t get along with or refuse to get along with? Does that hit a more realistic nerve for you?
While you may not call someone an enemy, I can be certain you the reader can name some people in your life you just don’t any have warm, fuzzy feelings for.
In all walks of life, you are going to encounter people that are hard to like and hard to root for and easier to hate with every kind of passion you can think of.
I usually get along with everyone yet there was this one person who really got so deep under my skin to the point that I just did not want to be around him.
I will spare you the details of why this person impacted me in this fashion.
Recently I discovered that life did not work out so well for this person, and when I heard what happened, my first reaction was, I am not very surprised.
I didn’t realize it at that moment but what I was doing was gloating.
One definition of gloating is when you find some kind of pleasure in someone else’s misfortune, to show in an annoying way that you are proud of your own success or excessively, expressively happy about someone else’s failure and I didn’t want to admit it at the time, but that is exactly what I was doing.
The hypocritical nature of gloating is sometimes we wrap our gloating and mix it with highest praise, even mightily thanking God for the calamity or trouble of the person we don’t like because they we feel they mightily deserved all of it.
After all, they messed with me, and I am a child of the king.
Yet when we lay our hearts before Scripture and come to verses like these in Proverbs 24:17-18, we realize that is not the way God desires us to respond.
When we do behave in this manner our response could have the opposite effect.
“Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, for the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.” – Proverbs 24:17-18
To say this as plainly as possible, God is not pleased when we gloat over our enemies.
How should you respond to those you don’t like?
Thankfully the Bible lays out an essential framework for how to address those we don’t like, we refuse to get along with or who are our sworn enemies.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” – Matthew 5:43-44
“But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” – Colossians 3:8
Jesus commands you to love and pray for those who persecute you.
Paul instructs us to get rid of all malice, and one of the definitions of malice is to gloat over someone else’s misfortune.
When we lay the cards on the table, gloating is sinful.
The interesting thing about this type of sin is no one around you would ever know unless you opened your mouth and told them.
Gloating and malice are things we keep in our hearts; and while we can hide them from others, God sees what lives there. (2 Samuel 11)
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Proverbs 24:17-18 The Message
28
17-18 Don’t laugh when your enemy falls; don’t gloat over his collapse. God might see, and become very provoked, and then take pity on his plight.
Here is a hard test of character.
Here is strong evidence if you are a child of God.
Here is a real measure of godliness and wisdom.
Here is a challenge for your faith, whether you want one or not.
Think now.
Are you happy when bad things happen to your enemies?
God commands you to love your personal enemies, and it is one of the chief measures of a true Christian.
Such love includes being grieved when your enemy falls or stumbles in life.
If you are glad or rejoice when he is hit by adversity, you have sinned.
In this proverb, the Lord God offers a simple rule for spiritual victory in your life.
Read on.
The proverb is not complete by itself, for the next verse, verse 18, explains the consequences of rejoicing at his troubles, “Lest the LORD see it, and it displeases him, and he turn away his wrath from him” (Proverbs 24:18).
God may switch from your side to your enemy’s side, if He detects you gloating about pain or trouble in your enemy’s life.
Beware!
If you are happy when bad things happen to your enemy, the Lord will see your selfish and vengeful glee; He will be angry at your wicked attitude; and He may lift His punishment of your enemy (Proverbs 24:18).
You will have stooped lower than your enemy, all the way to murderous thoughts of the heart – at those, A holy and righteous God cannot stand by.
Revenge is sin; vengeance is God’s (Romans 12:17-21).
But the proverb is not that simple.
The Preacher will not let you escape just because you have not actively sought to injure an enemy.
The wisdom of God is broader, more comprehensive than that (Psalm 119:96).
Solomon is going after your secret malignant thoughts that enjoy seeing your enemies in pain or trouble (Proverbs 24:9).
Do you rejoice – in your thoughts – when your enemy falls?
Are you glad – in your secret heart – when your enemy stumbles?
Do you feel a sense of vindication and pleasure at hearing of his or her misfortune?
These are the sins Solomon condemned.
Ah, dear reader, the glorious light of God’s word shines deep – all the way to your inner feelings. (Hebrews 4:12)
How do enemies fall and stumble?
They can fall and stumble into sin, which gives you no right to joy, because love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth”(I Corinthians 13:6).
If you care about someone, even in the least degree, you would not be glad to hear of their involvement in sin, for you should have the desire for all men to live righteously.
Enemies can fall and stumble into earthly troubles.
They may lose a job, get a divorce, have problems with their children, contract a disease, have an automobile accident, lose their dog, or catch the flu or a cold.
Wicked men secretly smile in their malicious hearts, for there are few things sweeter to the depraved soul of man than to see his enemy having troubles.
There is a right way to exact holy revenge or retribution on your enemy.
Are you ready for the secret of inspired wisdom?
Treat your enemy with love and kindness, even in your thoughts, and let the Lord deal with him (Proverbs 25:20-21; 20:22).
You prove a righteous heart; the Lord is pleased by your actions; and your enemy will face your angry Father.
Dealing With This All-Too-Common sincalled Gloating
Let’s deal with this issue by doing something practical.
Think about anyone in your life you either don’t really like or that you would consider an enemy.
Write their name down and spend the next week praying for that person or people if there is more than one.
I know what you may be thinking, but you don’t know how they are, you don’t know what they have done, or you don’t know what it is like to deal with them.
You are probably right about that, but God’s Word puts no qualifiers on this.
We are to love them, pray for them, hold no malice in our hearts toward them.
Here is why this is important for you.
It is your own heart that is at stake.
When you refuse to get along with them, or harbor malice and gloat over that person’s misfortune, you allow that person to keep a measure and degree of control over you, and you give room for bitterness to take root in your heart.
However, when you pray for them and love them, they no longer have influence over your life.
Who is that enemy of yours?
Do they work at your job?
Are they your neighbors?
Do they live in your neighborhood?
Do they go to your church?
Are they in your family?
Are they yourselves – are you the one who hates yourself the most?
Wherever they are, love them and pray for them.
James 5:16 New American Standard Bible 1995
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective [a]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
I can’t guarantee this will change them, but one thing it will definitely do is it will definitely change you, and just maybe that is what God was after all along.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd, I [a]shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside [b]quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death, I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You [f]have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will [h]dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
3 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a [a]stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in [b]what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.
See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our [c]life, and is set on fire by [d]hell. 7 For every [e]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human [f]race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both [g]fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce [h]fresh.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be [a]blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.Psalm 19:13-14
Or at least we keep praying ….
The Psalmist here reveals that we have a high degree of personal awareness that we are each required by God to conduct our lives with godly wisdom and spiritual understanding, but the most unruly evil, which is incapable of being tamed, subdued by self-effort or rigorous training, is the taming of the tongue.
This little organ can produce the most beautiful blessings which give glory of God, while at the same time can pour forth the most un-sanctified filth and blasphemy which discredits His holy name – and these things ought not to be.
The very same mouth should not pour forth both sweet and bitter water, both blessings and curses and this is not only an admonition for the few, but a stern warning that is applicable in the public, private, revealed life of all believers.
An important key to godly speech is right thinking.
Godly words that reflect a biblical perspective are rooted in a mind that is stayed on Christ – gracious thoughts and purity of heart is a manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in a life that is well governed by God and walking in spirit and truth.
The Way We Talk Tells Who We Are
James 3:7-12 The Message
7-10 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
10-12 My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?
It’s sad but true.
Some Christians do exactly what James says:
they praise their Lord and Father in church on Sunday, and then the next day, at home or on the job or on the road, they curse people.
Something goes wrong, and in an unguarded moment they let loose.
Someone in a hurry cuts in front of them on the highway, or someone makes a mistake, and some Christians use a stream of language that dishonors the Lord.
James says it should not be that way.
James notes that a spring does not yield both fresh and salty water, and a fig tree cannot bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs.
Similarly it is not fitting for a person who is connected with Christ through faith to use his or her tongue to curse others.
The way we talk tells who we are.
If we have truly praised God in worship, we may not possibly use our tongues to curse others.
We have to learn to control our tongues—not by our willpower or in our own strength. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit.
As we get ready to begin each new day, we should ask the Holy Spirit to guard our tongues.
Each one of us should learn to pray the prayer of Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
May the Words of My Mouth, Meditations of My Heart
Psalm 19:11-14 The Message
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray. Accept them when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
In the course of our lives we are confronted by unfairness, by unkindness, by disagreeable circumstances, and all too often by the most disagreeable people.
Before offering a verbal response in these situations, we would do well to recall this truth learned from our Lord: our words reflect our hearts (Matthew 12:34).
Matthew 12:34-37 The Message
34-37 “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.”
If our words are not Christlike, we must look first not to our mouths but to our hearts.
Equally, it is an indication of our Lord’s work within us when we respond to conflict and challenge with words that help rather than those that harm.
Our tongues contain immense power, and we may leverage them to help, to encourage, to affirm, to enrich, to reconcile, to forgive, to unite, to smooth, and to bless.
It is not by accident that so many of the Old Testament proverbs address the words we speak.
According to Solomon, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 10:11).
He compares this use of words to lovely earrings that adorn the beauty of the wearer and to beautiful ornaments that enhance the loveliness of a home (Proverbs 25:11-12).
Proverbs 25:12 The Message
11-12 The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry, And a wise friend’s timely reprimand is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.
Perhaps his most classic statement about the power of speech is his observation that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver”(v 11).
What is it that makes for such life-giving language?
How can our mouths be those that bring blessing to others?
Words of blessing are marked by honesty, by “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).
Ephesians 4:14-16 The Message
14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.
They are thoughtful, spoken by one who “ponders how to answer” (Proverbs 15:28).
Proverbs 15:28The Message
28 Prayerful answers come from God-loyal people; the wicked are sewers of abuse.
They are often few and marked by reason: “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding” (17:27).
Proverbs 17:27The Message
27 The one who knows much says little; an understanding person remains calm.
And, of course, helpful words will be gentle words. Though it may be hard to remember in the throes of difficult circumstances, it remains true that “a soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1).
Proverbs 15:1 The Message
God Doesn’t Miss a Thing
15 A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.
Indeed, a gentle response wells up from moral strength.
It takes far more self-control to respond in gentleness than to give way to unbridled passion and anger.
What will mark your words?
Will you commit yourself to using your tongue—that small but immensely powerful member of your body—to wash rather than muddy, to bless rather than curse, to give life rather than tear it down, and to help rather than harm?
Resolve today to use your words for the good of those with whom you interact, honoring Christ in your heart and letting His sweet aroma fill your speech.
Then humbly acknowledge that you cannot do this yourself (James 3:8), and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit—Holy Spirit who grows peace, gentleness, and self-control both inside your heart and in your speech (Galatians 5:22-23).
Humility, grace, peace, and love are the precious spiritual fruit that should be evident in the life of all God’s children who have gained wisdom and been given godly understanding.
The Lord Jesus Himself was the embodiment of all holy wisdom, and the personification of godly humility.
The Lord Jesus was the one Who, throughout His earthly life, demonstrated how all humanity was originally designed to live, and He remains the perfect example of a Man with godly wisdom and gracious understanding for He was meek and lowly of heart, and in Him we find rest for our soul.
As children of God, we are called to live as Christ lived.
We are instructed to live circumspect lives that glorify our Father in heaven, and so we are asked: “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
If we are to live the sort of life that God intends, where good behavior and godly deeds reflect the gentleness and wisdom of God, the old self must remain nailed to the Cross so the life of Christ may live in and through us, to His praise, glory.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Ley us Pray,
Father in heaven, help us to use the gift of speech to praise your name. Holy Spirit, empower us to use our tongues only in praise and honor of you.Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus’ example of how to live on earth to Your praise and glory. I pray that I would not act hypocritically, praising God in one breath and cursing Him in another, but I pray I would reflect the Lord Jesus, speaking always in spirit and in truth with all wisdom and understanding. This I ask in Jesus’ name, AMEN
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. 29 He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. 30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 Yet those who [a]wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will [b]mount up with[c]wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
A Holy Ignorance?
The people are lamenting, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God.”
Even when life appears cheerful, there is this undercurrent of sadness among the people.
It’s life in exile.
The people feel abandoned by God.
But Isaiah wants the people to reconsider what they already know, to hear what they’ve heard before.
“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God.”
No one can even minimally fathom the mind and thoughts and the ways of God.
As a teaspoon cannot hope to take the measure of the oceans, so the ever so finite human mind of mankind cannot begin to fathom the mind of God.
There’s a vast gap between the Creator and the creation.
Life itself is full of mystery–a newborn baby, love, gravity.
Who can fully explain these things?
According to A Short History of Nearly Everything, “There are perhaps 140 billion galaxies in the still unfolding universe. If all the stars in the universe were only the size of the head of a pin, they still would fill Miami’s Orange Bowl to overflowing more than three billion times.”
Over the centuries, Christians have spoken of a “holy ignorance,” an ignorance that is deeply humbling.
It revels in the knowledge the unfathomable Lord has everything, including you and me, in his hands.
We need not fathom God’s ways in order to trust him.
It’s enough to know his heart.
But, Even In Our Ignorance We Will Still Have to Wait
A good friend often shares this reminder:
God is never late, and rarely early; He is an on-time God.
These are encouraging words for all of God’s people who believe in prayer and worship a sovereign God.
God doesn’t work on our timetable, but accomplishes all that He wills according to His own schedule.
No one likes waiting.
We live in an age of microwave meals, instant access to information, and next-day and even same day shipping.
The idea behind all our modern-day conveniences is that they will “save” time for us, but the reality is, we are far busier than our ancestors ever were.
We strive to accomplish more and more, to pack as much as we possibly can into the twenty-four hours allotted to each day.
And if by chance we must wait longer than we feel we should, we will grow ever more impatient, rude, and discontent.
I don’t believe this is the way God intended us to live.
Life in the Garden of Eden was simple, as Adam and Eve enjoyed the beautiful world the Father had created for them.
As each day ended, they had time to enjoy what surely was a spectacular sunset and looked forward each evening to walking with God in the cool of the day and enjoying His presence (Genesis 3:8).
Now, we’ll squeeze as much as we can out of every minute of everyday and drop exhausted into our beds, only to do it all over again the next day.
No wonder we find it difficult to wait on God.
How do you respond when God fails to answer your prayers, or your questions, or change your circumstances in what you feel is a “timely” manner?
Does it grow your faith, or challenge what you believe about Him?
Here are six things we need to consider as we wait on God.
1. Trust God Has a Path for You, Will Keep You on It
Psalm 25:1-5 New American Standard Bible 1995
Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.
A Psalm of David.
25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; [a]Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.
Proverbs 16:1-3 English Standard Version
16 The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.[a] 3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:9 English Standard Version
9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
It can be frustrating when we make plans that don’t work out.
We can’t see into the future; we can only make decisions based on what we know, what we’ve experienced, the good counsel, wisdom we find in and throughout God’s Word.
As we wait, we must trust that God’s Spirit will speak to us, directing our steps, and that He is able to orchestrate events so that things work out exactly as He alone desires and has planned for us.
Have you ever found yourself in a traffic jam, frustrated and anxious that you are going to be late, only to find out later that the delay was a blessing in disguise, perhaps keeping you from a greater tragedy?
Instead of seeing a perpetual array of roadblocks and delays as frustrations or failures, trust that God is working behind the scenes for the perfect outcome, according to His plans for you.
2. Remember God Is Good, and Desires Good for You
Psalm 27:13-14 New American Standard Bible 1995
13 [a]I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.
We all would prefer to avoid any kind of suffering or trials.
Perhaps you’ve planned a long-awaited trip, bought the tickets, and packed your bags, only to get sick, or have something come up that demands your attention and cancels your plans.
Without a steadfast solid belief in God’s character, His divine interruptions can derail us spiritually.
Waiting on God for healing or for any change to better and easier circumstances requires us to remember He is essentially good in His nature, that His goodness is eternal and infinite.
Romans 8:28 New American Standard Bible 1995
28 And we know that [a]God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
All His actions toward us are good and designed to accomplish good in our lives.
3. Know That God Is Aware of Your Heart’s Desires
Psalm 37:3-9 New American Standard Bible 1995
3 Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and [a]cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.
7 [b]Rest in the Lord and wait [c]patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. 8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. 9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
These scriptures remind us that God is not “playing” with our feelings when He causes us to wait.
He knows us intimately and designed us personally.
As our Creator, He knows what satisfies our hearts, meet our deepest needs.
Whether it’s a relationship, a job, or something more tangible and physical, trust that what God provides for you will be worth the wait.
Ultimately, He meets the desires of our heart with Himself as we deepen our relationship with Him.
4. Be Assured God Sees You, Is Thinking about You
Psalm 40:1-5 New American Standard Bible 1995
God Sustains His Servant.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
40 I waited [a]patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the [b]miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord.
4 How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust, And has not [c]turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. 5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.
When God isn’t answering our prayers as quickly as we’d like, it can seem like He doesn’t hear us.
We may feel forgotten, as if He doesn’t care.
According to His Word, this is never true.
God’s thoughts toward us are too numerous to count.
Speaking of His beloved city, Jerusalem, and His people, the children of Israel, God says,
“Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me” (Isaiah 49:15-16).
All who have put their faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, are His beloved children.
God inscribed us on the palm of His hands with the scars from the nails that held Jesus to the cross on our behalf.
Never doubt that God sees you while you are waiting on Him to act.
5. Trust That God Is Present with You
Psalm 46 New American Standard Bible 1995
God the Refuge of His People.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, [a]set to Alamoth. A Song.
46 God is our refuge and strength, [b]A very present help in [c]trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the [d]sea; 3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. [e]Selah.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her [f]when morning dawns. 6 The [g]nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He [h]raised His voice, the earth melted. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, [i]Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 “[j]Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the [k]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
Waiting is hard at any time, but never harder than when we feel we are waiting alone.
God said it was not good for man to be alone; that’s why He created Eve, so that Adam would have a companion (Genesis 2:18).
Our brothers and sisters in Christ, our family, and our friends can make our burdens lighter as we wait, but the ultimate Helper we need is God Himself.
We must believe He is present, and that He is with us in our waiting.
Knowing and believing that God is present with us gives us hope and courage while we wait for Him to act.
Speaking to His disciples in anticipation of His return to heaven, Jesus promised, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).
He was speaking of the Holy Spirit who would be sent by the Father to indwell His followers. God is always present with us; He is in us, and He waits with us.
6. Ponder and Meditate on God’s Word, Which Will Sustain You
Psalm 119:9-16 New American Standard Bible 1995
Beth.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. 10 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. 11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, [a]As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts And [b]regard Your ways. 16 I shall [c]delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.
Waiting patiently for the Lord to act requires occupying our minds and hearts with something greater.
Our focus must not be only on what we need God to do for us, but on who He is and what He has already done.
Waiting will not seem like waiting if we sustain our souls with the abundant spiritual nourishment we find in His Word.
Instead, we will find that the waiting becomes a place of joy and peace, trusting that our Father is perpetually working, and he will answer at just the right time.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 27 New American Standard Bible 1995
A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the [a]defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? 2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I [b]shall be confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the [c]beauty of the Lord And to [d]meditate in His temple. 5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His [e]tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. 6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices [f]with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me. 8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.” 9 Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! 10 [g]For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path Because of [h]my foes. 12 Do not deliver me over to the [i]desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. 13 [j]I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 