As believers, prayer is an essential part of our daily lives. When things are going well, we pray to our Heavenly Father with joy and gratitude. When things appear to be going sideways in our lives, we pray a lot more often, and our prayers become impassioned pleas as we cry out to God with all we’ve got.
Our prayers are sometimes in quick response to a situation, or, like David’s intention in this verse, planned for with time set aside. When we have the privilege to approach the Lord in this way, our prayers become as incense set before His throne. Lit with the fire of His Spirit. Burning with sweet surrender. Our hands lifted to heaven as a sacrifice of praise.
Today, let’s take the time to set our prayer before Him with our full attention. It will definitely please our King, and it will strengthen our souls as we invest our time in the One who loves us beyond measure.
Jeff Deal
What does the law bring to man? It brings a curse, because to be justified by it, you must keep “all” of it and not fail in any of it, “Cursed is the one who does not keep ALL things written in the book of the law.” Our works aren’t graded on a curve, we don’t get points for doing better than others, or even end up in the upper percentile of law keepers. It’s all or nothing.
The law is a curse to those who think that they can earn God’s favor and be justified by trying to keep it when there is no way they can. So what is the law for? It is there to teach us that “The just shall live by faith.”
The law and faith are so contrary to one another, because if you want to live by the law, it’s up to you to do it. But faith is not of us, it comes from God. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather trust in what God can do in me, rather than what I can never do on my own.
Pastor Doug Hardin
Have you ever been in a trial so big that you feel that there is no way out? You feel like you are in the ocean being drowned by the waves and as soon as you can catch your breath, the next wave comes. Whatever your trial or storm may be, it is important to know that it is not too big for the Lord. Sometimes we make our problems big and our God small but it is important for us to remember that He is the Creator of all things and that nothing is too hard for Him.
If you find yourself making God small take comfort in the fact that people like Jeremiah and Abraham (Genesis 18:14) had to be reminded to put things in the right perspective. So whether it is financial troubles, illness, a rebellious loved one gone astray, or whatever it may be, there is nothing too hard for God!
Blessings,
Daniel Batistelli
No one likes a bumpy road or turbulence on an airplane. We enjoy a smooth, easy-going ride. The same goes for life. If there is any little bump that may occur, we can often think, “What have I done to deserve this?”
Be of good cheer! The Lord has promised tribulations in the world we live in. This is hard to think when you are in the thick of it but allow me to remind you. You serve a God that has overcome the world and the tribulations in it. Sit at the cross and let the word of God speak peace in your tribulations today.
Resting in Him,
Pastor Sean Boehm
There is a noticeable difference between people who are filled with the Spirit and those who just imbibe spirits. The latter is looking to be numbed and get away from the cares of the world. That person looks forward to the weekend and the fun and laughter of partying with his friends. He’s not usually aware it’s all emptiness at that point; at least I wasn’t aware of it when that used to be my life.
For those who are saved and drawing closer to God through prayer and reading His word, there is real joy. It’s the kind of joy that makes you start singing worship songs and praising the Lord. When I go to places where Christians are hanging out, inevitably someone breaks out a guitar and the whole room starts singing to God. So which one are you, the singer or the drinker? Turn to Jesus today and get to making some merry music!
Hallelujah!
Pastor Ron Kitchell
We are prone to go to extremes. One hears “liberty” and thinks “I can do whatever I want and God will forgive me.” Another sees the error in this and thinks “We must impose more rules.” The first extreme is a license to sin. The other extreme leads to legalism. We are called to liberty, free from sin and death, free from guilt and shame. But Paul issues a warning. Don’t fall into sin because of your liberty.
The danger is real, not because God’s grace will fail us, but because we fall short of the grace of God (Hebrews 12:15). So Paul gives this commandment, by love, serve one another. The key ingredient is “love.” When we add love to our liberty we are serving others. When we subtract love from our liberty, we serve only ourselves and we fall into sin. When we subtract love and liberty, we fall into legalism.
So with all that in mind, let us not ask “What can I get away with?” or “What new policy must we enforce?” but rather “Lord, how can I love others today that they may see Your love through me?”
With love and liberty,
Pastor Rod Harris
This is one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament. I didn’t completely surrender my life to the Lord until I was 27 years old and in those previous years, I did a lot of dumb, destructive things. I could be left with a lot of regret over those years, but God’s promise to me, as His child, is that I will not only walk in His blessings, but He will somehow use and restore all of those wasted years.
I can truly testify that God has indeed used even my times of failure to minister to others and bring glory to His name. Whether it is personal weaknesses or broken relationships, God has a way of bringing things into His will.
Loving how He restores,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.
Psalm 91:14-16
The word dwell here speaks of making our home in God’s presence and under His shadow, even as Paul prayed for the Ephesian saints (Ephesians 3:17) that God might dwell (katoikeo in Greek) in their house by faith, able to find a home in their heart and lives.
How comfortable are you in church, among other believers, when talk turns to the Bible and the things of God? True fellowship with God is like coming home to a place of rest, familiarity, and joy. If that is where you live, then the last three verses of this psalm finds God speaking directly to you! Read them again. May He find you today at home in Him!
My heart, Christ’s home,
Pastor Jack Abeelen
There are a lot of good-willed believers that always expect more from themselves and feel as if God is never pleased with them. I find myself in this camp more times than not and I think it is because I forget that I am just dust. If we were capable of being more than just dust than I’m sure there would be no need for Jesus to come and save us all. But the reality is, Jesus did come because without Him, we are nothing and have nothing.
You see, God knows this. He knows how frail and weak we are. He knows our limitations and all our flaws. Yet He has compassion on us! He loves His children, those that call Him Papa, and revere Him as such.
If you find yourself self-hating, or self-condemning, know this: God is pleased with you because He is pleased with His Son Jesus Christ who has covered you in His righteousness. So smile, enjoy your heavenly Father, and bask in His love and grace. It will do miracles for you!
Pastor Jason Witt
This is the fourth beatitude that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus uses words rooted in the physical world to describe a spiritual need in all of our souls. Just as our bodies need food and water for sustenance and growth, so our souls need righteousness, and without it, we will perish. “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said elsewhere.
Notice that Jesus does not say, “Blessed are the righteous,” as if righteousness was something already attained, but he says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” indicating those who realize they are constantly and desperately in need of it. The blessed are not those who have arrived, but those who continue, whatever the cost, to yearn for righteousness.
But Jesus declares that those who long for the righteousness of God, and seek for it despite their flaws, shall indeed be satisfied. The deep longings of their soul will be gratified by the One who put those yearnings there. This beatitude makes it plain that those who desire righteousness as their all-consuming hunger and thirst shall be deeply and completely filled—satisfied—by God Himself.
Tom Day
