Psalm 40

I read Psalm 40 today, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite Bible passages. I usually try not to stay on just one chapter in my daily devotion a day, I try to read more, but I could not get away from this passage. I encourage you to read it, not just read it, but to put yourself in the shoes of the author. Remember a time that you were in the miry clay, but Jesus came and lifted you out!

V. 1-3

If you are a disciple of Christ, you have once been in a "slimy pit" & in "mud and mire". Deep in sin, with no way to work yourself out. You were on your way to hell, on a fast track there, but Jesus. But Jesus, came, and he lifted us out of the pit of destruction, out of the pit of our sin and selfishness, out of the slimy pit that sucked us in, and he gave us a firm foundation to stand upon. He placed us on the rock, so that we could stand firm in our trust in Him. When I think about where I could be, should be, would be, if it were not for the grace of God and His all surpassing power and glory, I cannot help but feel so unworthy to be in Bible College. If it were not for the love of God that goes beyond all understanding, a love we cannot even begin to fathom, there is no telling where I would be. Stuck in this miry clay, sticking to me and sucking me down deeper and deeper in my sin, guilt, and shame. A worthless creature. But Jesus gave me life, gave me a meaning, and a purpose. He gave me a new identity! I use to sing a song of despair within my heart they way I lived, but Jesus gave me a new song. A song of life, and redemption. A song of purpose and fulfillment. A song of grace and love. How I thank you Jesus for your grace! You turned my lost and dying life, on a one way track to hell, around and set me on a path of eternal life in your presence. It makes me want to shout!

V. 5

Despite all of the mistakes I have made, you continue to reveal yourself to me. When I think about all that you have done for me, they are too numerous to recount. The Psalmist here reiterates this: there is not enough time in the world to rename all that you have done for us, Lord! So many times we take this for granted. We complain about what we don't have, when we have so much more than enough. God forgive me! 

V. 6

This verse is extremely compelling. The psalmist says that God did not desire sacrifice and offering, but my ear you have pierced, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. 

When I first read this, I was very confused. But as I studied I learned that servants during this time would pierce their ear in a covenant that they devote the rest of their life to their master. Now if you place that in the verse, it reads, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, you want me to devote my whole life to you, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require." 

You may be wandering what this has to do with you, good question! Sacrificial offerings and symbolic rituals were things that God required during this time period. They were meant to show that the Israelites were incapable to live up to God's standards by their selves. But, Israelites were substituting genuine relationship with God with these rituals. These were never meant to be a substitute for a real relationship with God. Now, when we begin to understand that, we see where this verse applies to us. As Christians, so many times we try to substitute having a genuine relationship with Jesus with going to church, giving tithes and offering, a devotion time, helping the poor, etc. All of these things are great, but so was offering sacrifices to God. We see in Genesis, Cain was participating in these rituals, but God was not pleased with his sacrifice. I believe this was because he was devoted to God. We can read the Bible, and pray, and give offering and all of those things, but if we are devoted to a genuine relationship with Jesus, it is all pointless. For God "does not desire sacrifice and offering, but a pierced ear." He wants you to give yourself away! To be a servant of Christ. A slave of righteousness. Devoted for life to his will. 

V. 7-8

Jesus' whole model of ministry and his heart cry was, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." Hebrews quotes V. 7 to explain Jesus' life. Jesus came with a burden for the lost, and a desire to do God's will. This verse is very similar to Isaiah 6:8, "Here am I, send me!" Jesus' motto of ministry was "Here I stand, I desire to do your will. Send me, I will go." If Jesus, God incarnate - God among us, said "I have come to do your will" then why in the world are we not doing the same thing? God has plans and purposes for us to do, yet we go our own way so often! Jesus, let my heart cry what your hear cried, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." When we desire to do God's will, we will have a passion to know His word, and commit it to memory. 

V. 9

"... I do not seal my lips... I do not hide your righteousness in my heart." 

The average American Christian has very rarely, if ever, gone and told lost people about the love of Jesus. Lord, help us to unseal our lips, and to not keep the treasure of salvation in our hearts. Help us, and enable us to proclaim the incredible news of your sacrifice and your love and grace to the whole world! Forgive us for remaining silent, and give us a passion for the lost. 

Psalm 42:1, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God." 

My Rod and My Staff

If you can, read Psalm 23. Most of us can probably quote it, but take a minute to look over it again. Read it while putting yourself in a moment in time that you were desperate to God. Pray this psalm, it is powerful. God conceived it in his mind, the Holy Spirit inspired it, to show us how much God cares for those who follow Him.

Such a powerful Scripture. My parents had me memorize it when I was younger, and it has never left me. In my darkest moments of worry and doubt, I find this Passage making its way to the surface if my mind. God is my shepherd, as a sheep follows the shepherd, so am I to follow the True and righteous shepherd. No matter life's rumbles and jolts, I can trust my creator and my savior. God longs to be my shepherd, to lead me, to be the one that I look to for direction and guidance. To follow his beckon an call alone. A sheep only follows the voice that he is accustomed to. When I dig down deep into the word of God and spend time in prayer, I am becoming accustomed to Gods voice, and turning to him for guidance. He loves that!

He makes lie down in green pastures. He provides peace in my unrestlessness. He is my stronghold to which I turn when life seems to be turning upside down. Just as a sheep can rest easy knowing that its shepherd is so close, so can I rest in the assurance that my shepherd will never leave me not forsake me! Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with me!

There is a valley in the desert in Judah, that one can encounter that casts deep shadows on the land. So deep and dark, that when one walks through it, they cannot even perceive what they will encounter. Whether it be bandits, wild animals, or flood waters, it is impossible to see ahead. But my God says that even when I am in the deepest of darkness in my life, where I cannot even perceive what is happening, I'm lost and clueless, HE IS There! I have nothing to dear, for my God is with me. He guides me, and leads me, with comfort and peace. His rod and his staff comfort me in my darkest moments of life.

A shepherd inBible times would carry 2 "sticks" with him, One was a "rod". A rod is a short club. This club was used as a weapon of defense against enemies and approaching prey. It also was used as a disciplining instrument for the sheep. This club was both a weapon for defense and an instrument of discipline. The second "stick" that shepherds carried was his "staff". This staff is what you see all shepherds in movies carrying around. A long slender stick with a hook on the end. This instrument was used to pull sheep in close to the shepherd. It was also used to guide the sheep in the right path to go, as well as rescue it from trouble. The staff was used to comfort, guide, and protect. I believe that the true shepherd today uses the Word of God a his rod and staff. It is a weapon of defense against the enemy as temptation is thrown our way. We defend ourselves, and go on the offensive by quoting scripture back in the enemies face. The Word of God is an instrument of discipline, as we read Scripture, we feel the nudge of the spirit to change. We feel God convicting us through his Inspired Word. By reading this love letter written by God, we also find comfort in his sovereignty and and assurance of salvation. We see the heartbeat of God and his passion to reach the lost, how desperate he is to have a relationship with us. We read the Bible for Gods direction in our lives, for guidance in how to live, act, and react. We memorize scripture and quote scripture to protect us from the evils of this world. There is something about being in the middle of incredibly dangerous and "all odds against you" situations, and simply trusting God and quoting his word despite what your flesh tells you to do. Gods word is the rod and staff that comforts me when I am at my lowest. Just being in his presence changes me.

My God is with me wherever I go, whatever I face. When I follow my shepherd through the good, bad, ugly, etc. of my life, one day I will be able to spend eternity with Him! I will "dwell in the House of The Lord forever." Thank you Jesus!

Psalm 42:1, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."

Heart Condition

It was only several years since the first judgement. Noah's sons began to repopulate the world. Humanity was growing once again, but they had not learned their lesson. Although the signs were all so clear of the consequences of sin, the lust for pleasures outweighed their desire to serve God. Humanity knew of God, and knew who God was, yet they still did their own thing. We find in Genesis 11, a story that really defines humanity, even today.

"Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go downand confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth." 

Genesis 11:1-9

Why was it such a big deal that humanity began this building project? Why did God shut it down? Building a city is fine, there is nothing wrong with that. Building a tower is fine, nothing is wrong with that either. Neither is there a problem with trying to be good at what you do and being creative, so making the tower tall was okay as well. There had to have been something more, something more than just skin deep that made this project shut down. What was it?... I am convinced that it was the nature of their heart. Building a city and a tall tower are all fine by their selves, so that means it had to have been WHY they built the tower and city. 

Humanity during this time had once again given into the sins that their ancestors had. They were deeply rooted in everything but God. Sorcery, astrology, sexual immorality, greed, violence. Sin was once again the number one thing in humanities heart. With this said, it shows that the building of this tower was not for righteous reasons. This tower was built out of rebellion. They were not going God's way. They loved sin more than God. The true sin of this people was their desire to determine their own destiny apart from God. They tried to accomplish this by their own skills and power, with the sole concept being based on pride and rebellion from God. The people in this story were following their own way, not consulting God at all. 

In Romans chapter 1 verse 21, Paul is writing and explains the Spiritual condition of the heart apart from God.

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images and animals and reptiles." 

You can continue on reading this chapter, it is extremely powerful. In this letter, God shows us the condition of the heart of people apart from Him. Even people that know God, and who Jesus is, but do not devote themselves to Him. God calls these people fools. A fool is someone who lives as if there is no God. When we sin, we are living as if there is no God. Right now, you are probably thinking that I am being extremely radical. Well, let me ask you this before you cut to conclusions about me. If Jesus was sitting right next to you, watching everything you do, would you still look up porn on your computer? Would you still tell that lie? Would you still talk pervertedly? Would you still gossip? Would you still get drunk? Would you still go to that boyfriend or girlfriends house that you know you have no business being at? No? Yet, we do it when He is not around... But thats not the case. God is omnipresent, meaning he is everywhere at once. His spirit is always with us. Jesus says "lo, I am with you always." in matthew 28:10. If we REALLY believed with our WHOLE HEART that Jesus was with us RIGHT NOW, and ALWAYS, would we really still do these sinful acts? Of course not! With that said, I hold onto what I said earlier about sinning means you are foolish. It sounds harsh, and judgmental, but it is fact, and biblical. Paul says in the passage of Scripture above, that their "hearts were darkened". Ever since the fall of man, the sin of Adam and Eve, the hearts of humanity have been corrupted. 

First, lets define what the "heart" is biblically. In Scripture, the heart is not literally used, it is not referring to the physical organ that pumps blood throughout our body. Instead, The heart represents the center of ones being. The center of one's intellect, emotion, and will. 

The heart is the center of our intellect: Using my Study Bible, I see that Scripture refers to people: knowing, praying, meditating, hiding God's word, Devising plans, keeping words, thinking, doubting, pondering, believing, & singing in their heart. All of these are things involving the mind. 

The heart is the center of our emotion: The Bible refers to the glad, loving, fearful, courageous, repentant, anxious, angry, revived, anguished, delighted, grieving, humble, excited, burning, and the troubled heart. All of these are things involving emotions. 

The heart is the center of our will. Our will is defined as a persons desire, motivation, purpose, resolve, or ability to choose. Throughout scripture we see the heart that is: hardened, determined to do something, refuses to obey a command, devoted to pursue a deeper relationship with God, decisive, desiring to receive from God, turned toward God's law. All of these things are actions involving our will. 

When Adam and Eve chose to sin, they allowed for evil to fill our hearts. Our hearts, as humans, were no longer pure with no evil intent found. They were now wide open to be filled with anything and everything. Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, making the heart corrupt, and a breeding ground for evil. Our entire being (heart) was corrupted. Apart from God, apart from devoting our whole heart, or our whole being, to God, our heart, our whole being, is defiled. It is not trustworthy, for it is contaminated with sin. When we are not living fully devoted to God, our "hearts [are] darkened" like Paul writes. With this said, when Hollywood tells you to "follow your heart", do you really want to trust it?? The people of Babel did. They followed the desires of their heart, which led to God being very displeased in them. 

You must have a "heart transplant!" Defined as being the replacement of a patient's diseased or injured heart with a healthy donor heart. When people have bad hearts, literal bad hearts, they must go on a waiting list, waiting for a man or woman to die that has a good heart, so that they can have their heart to live. Plus, the blood types of the bad heart and good heart must be the same, or the patients body will reject the donors heart. But I have great news! The ultimate heart donor died to give you his heart! He was tortured and bruised because of our sins. He hung on a cross because of our transgressions. He died, the ultimate donor. The great thing? His blood type is sufficient for all people. There is no such thing as a waiting list with this donor. The only list required to be put down on, is the book of the Lamb's book of life. When you accept this transplant, this renewing of your entire being, you guaranteed life with this donor. Jesus. Solomon wrote in the book of proverbs to, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23. Die to yourself daily and guard your heart. Guard your intellect, emotions, and will. Follow God with everything you have. 

Psalm 42:1 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."

Refuge & Fortress

Psalm 91:2 "I will say to the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"

Definition of Refuge: Shelter or protection from danger or distress

In 2005, one of the worst hurricanes in the history of the United States hit the gulf of Mexico, slamming into Louisiana and it's surrounding neighbors. 1,833 people died in this massive storm. The total cost of damage from Katrina was an estimated 81 billion dollars. The city that took the most damage and deaths was New Orleans, as the levee system catastrophically failed, leaving 80% of the city flooded. The floodwaters covering the city lasted for weeks. These flood waters pushed thousands of New Orleans residents to a refugee center set up in the Super Dome (Where the New Orleans Saints play). The refugees spent weeks of protection in this city, protecting themselves from the flood waters outside. The Super Dome was a shelter of protection from danger outside. The residents that found shelter in this stadium, didn't stay here forever. In fact, when the flood waters resided, they were eager to leave. They were thankful for the protection that the stadium brought, but they did not want to stay there forever. The stadium was only a refuge for them, not a home. 

Christians have a tendency to treat Jesus as just a refuge instead of a refuge and a fortress. It's easy to turn to God when we need something from Him. We tend to run to Jesus when we need help, or when we want forgiveness of our sins, but when the storm has passed, we tend to not give Jesus a second thought during the day. If we do, it's usually because we want to ask Him for something. We treat Jesus no more than the Katrina refugees treated the Super Dome. They were grateful for the time that they had protected from the storm and the flood waters in the stadium, but they left when the flood waters receded. Jesus IS our refuge. We see that in the Scripture above. But Jesus doesn't want to JUST be our refuge. He doesn't want to just be what we depend upon when we are in trouble, He wants to be our fortress as well. 

Definition of Fortress: A large and permanent fortification, sometimes including a town.

In early years of civilization, all big towns would build fortifications around there city. They lived in the fortresses year round, inside theses walls of fortification was their home. They depended on these fortresses for protection. They guarded these walls with their life. These fortifications meant life or death. 

A fortress is a dwelling place. A fortress is the surrounding defenses around a city. It is where you live, everything you need is found in it. Fortresses are where military outposts are found. They constantly are on the look out for the enemy ready to defend their city if they are attacked. A fortress is a place of constant work to continue to fortify your city. God wants to be our fortress as well as our refuge. It's easy to turn to God when we need something from Him, but when we are going good, sometimes God is the last thing on our minds. There are times in life where everything is going good, but God doesn't want us to just sit around and wait until something goes wrong for us to go running to Him for help. He wants us to daily depend on our fortress (Jesus) for help. When everything was going good, people in early civilization didn't just leave their fortified city waiting for someone to attack before they ran back in. No, they lived there even when everything was going good. They still depended on the fortress. They stayed in the fortress so that they could rest easier. They felt secure in the walls of the city. 

When we pray and spend time with God, and desperately depend upon God even when everything is going good, we will find rest in Him. God is longing for us to depend on Him. Don't just seek after God when you want something from Him, or when you sin and you want forgiveness; Seek after God on days that everything is going great, seek after Him on days that everything is going awful, seek after Him when you don't feel like it, seek after Him on days that you do feel like it, seek after Him on days that you are busy, seek after Him on days that you don't want to do anything. Make time to seek after God. Let God be your fortress and your refuge. Desperately depend upon Him in the good and the bad. You, my God, are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Today I may busy, worn out, feeling sick, feeling great, having the worst day ever, having the best day ever, get bad news, get good news, etc. I will seek after you no matter what. YOU ARE MY HEARTS DESIRE. 

Psalm 42:1, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."