“ You have done many good things for me, LORD,
just as you promised.
I believe in your commands;
now teach me good judgment and knowledge.
I used to wander off until you disciplined me;
but now I closely follow your word.
You are good and do only good;
teach me your decrees.
Arrogant people smear me with lies,
but in truth I obey your commandments with all my heart.
Their hearts are dull and stupid,
but I delight in your instructions.
My suffering was good for me,
for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
Your instructions are more valuable to me
than millions in gold and silver.” (Psalm 119:65-73 NLT)
Back in the “olden days”, when you wanted to get to know someone, you had to talk to them in person (Gasp! Only if I had to because shyness is a real thing and I had it in spades), call them (on a phone hooked to the wall with a cord. Which is a pain if you are a pacer and twirler. Sigh…My family had to “free” me from the phone cord on one or two occasions.), or (my favorite way) write notes back and forth. Oh, how I loved getting those little folded up notes of white lined paper! It was like opening up a little present. Each carefully folded note giving me a better glimpse into the person as we shared back and forth glimpses into our dreams, hopes, frustrations, and plans. I still have many of them tucked into my journals from over the years.
When I open God’s Word, I get that same jolt of anticipation as I did with those notes long ago. “What will I discover about God today?” “What will He tell me today?” And that is so important because what we discover and learn about Him influences our perceptions and actions throughout the day.
Psalm 119:65-73 says:
1. He keeps his promises
2. He is a Teacher
3. He disciplines
4. He is good
5. He allows suffering for our good
6. His instructions are priceless
How does knowing these things about God help your perspective in what is happening in your life today? Do things look hopeless? Grasp his promises. He always keeps them. Do you need wisdom? He is your teacher. Ask Him for instructions. Have you messed up and now suffer the consequences of your actions? Run into his arms, confess, and allow God to make something good out of your mistake. Be willing to do the hard thing to turn it around because Psalm 34:15 says “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry.” The Lord pays particular attention to those who seek to follow closely His path and His ways.
Open His notes to you. Enjoy the discovery of Who God is and follow closely after Him. You will never run out of things to learn about our precious Father who breathed His Word to us.
Enjoying God’s precious notes to us with you today,
Lisa
“I ask –ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory – to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him – endless energy, boundless strength!” (Ephesians 1:17-19 – the Message)
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God! What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude” Psalm 84:1-4 (NLT)
Longing. Fainting. I am struck with how passionately the author expresses his desire to be in God’s presence or how fun it will be to sing his praises continually. However, today my eyes keep getting drawn to the directional word, “interlude”. A lot of times you’ll see the word “selah”. This implies a time of reflection. The composer of the Psalm wants the singers to pause, reflect, and meditate on what was just sung. He wants people to stop and really think about the words and their impact before moving on.
Our fast-paced, overly-booked, overly-worked society doesn’t allow much time for “interlude” and reflection. So, I’m challenging you to slow down right now. Read the verses above or maybe another verse that has been on your mind today. Take a moment. Don’t rush through the words. Pause and reflect on what the Lord is telling you. Sometimes the sweetest worship experience is just being quiet before the Lord soaking in His word and resting in His presence.
May you have many “interludes” with our Lord today,
Lisa
“Worship is the magnification of God and the minimization of self. One of the most succinct expressions of a worshipper’s heart in all the New Testament came from John the Baptist: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’” (page 168 from Dr. James Macdonald’s book, “Vertical Worship”).
Many times, it’s easy to come to church hoping to hear our favorite songs sung, favorite verses read, or favorite preaching style preached, and so on. We think of church like Burger King’s 40-year-old slogan, “Have it your way”. However, when we do that we are missing out on the real reason we are there. And what is the real reason we meet week after week? Because “…we have been rescued from our sins, united with a risen, living Christ and with each other through faith in Jesus. And because of that union with Jesus and with each other, the Bible, God’s word, calls us to regular, weekly expressions of our corporate joy and thankfulness before God in worship,…” (John Piper)
We don’t come to fill our preference tank. It is taking the focus off of ourselves and putting it on the One who deserves it. Timothy Keller puts it this way, “Worship is pulling our affections off our idols and putting them on God…at our deepest level, we were created for worship.” I love that! What idol are you and I holding on to that gets in the way of worship? Pride? Selfishness in which we insist on our way? Unforgiveness? Worldly distractions?
I pray that when it comes time for worship we come with affections duly placed where God may have it His way. May we come with anticipation of God’s presence, His Word made alive in us, His love showered upon our hearts. And in light of all He has done for us, giving God the praise due His name. May we expect to be moved by His Spirit and not necessarily by the elements that make up our time together. God can use those things, yes, but He doesn’t need them to make an impression on a heart that is open to His still small voice.
Worshiping with you today,
Lisa
The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns (Psalm 99:1; Revelation 19:6).
Father, let us not be like those who have turned their back from following you or ones who do not seek You. But let us be a people who trust in your steadfast love and follow your direction. Help us to remember whether in good times or in struggles to remember we are not forgotten by You and that You know and find us valuable. To You, we lift up our soul!
(Zephaniah 1:4,6; Psalm 143:8; Luke 12:6-7)
I have mentioned before that I spent about a month in South Africa on tour with Carpenter’s Tools/Youth for Christ when I was in high school. At one point on our tour we stayed for about three days in a small African village with several host families. Most of the homes were huts made from sticks, mud, and thatch, but we were housed with families that had bigger homes made of wood but still had dirt floors, no electricity, and no running water. Several generations lived under one roof, but they were so generous to offer their home and precious food to us for a few days; giving up the one bed they owned so we girls didn’t have to sleep on the dirt floor.
In between concerts we worked with a translator as we met with our “neighbors” to talk about Christ. The fact that this village was poor was not lost on us and made us feel guilty for what we took for granted at home. They truly had very little to offer us but what they did, they gave freely and joyfully. And during times of worship together, I saw such peace and joy on their faces. Here they were surrounded in poverty and unrest, but their faith in God was unshakable.
What I took away from that experience was our faith, trust, and joy in God is not determined by circumstances. Habakkuk 3:17-19 says,
“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.”
This small group of South African believer’s joy did not rest on what they had or didn’t have but the assurance that God saved them, was their strength, and He would take care of them. Your version of the above verses could go like this: Though I have no job, money, or resources, and my friends and health have failed, and my future seems to hold no possibilities, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; my salvation, my strength. He helps me to run with power and reach those unreachable places.
Even though there are times when we feel like we have nothing, God is still there. He is still good. He is still powerful. He has saved our souls and we can say with complete confidence Psalm 52:8-9,
“I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,”
Rejoicing with you because He has done it!
Lisa
“ You have done many good things for me, LORD,
