Tag: Psalms

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Birthday Card Blessings

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.” Psalms‬ ‭20:4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is one of these sweet easy-going prayers of blessing brought to you by King David himself. These collections of songs are an incredible legacy and constant reminder for anyone who loves life filled with both the highs of delight and also the lows of crushing disappointment.

In the past I’ve had the delight of signing birthday and anniversary cards for hundreds of people. While I was working for Royal Family KIDS, I was signing about 500 cards a year. Now, while Pastoring in Lakewood, California once again I am signing a few less, but still a lot. Every year I pick a reminder verse to write in each birthday card. I love celebrating people and when I write in their cards I think of the very best and highest ways to let them know why they are so loved.

This is one of those passages I will keep and write in cards for 2023. For 2022, I already chose Psalm 90:17 which talks about the favor of God being poured out. These verses, here in this Psalm, are just the thing we need to be reminded of on a regular basis. David’s victory banner in this case will be a birthday banner both celebrating the past and pronouncing a blessing on the future. And, may the Lord truly answer all your prayers – especially the ones that line up with what God already wants to see happen!

PRAYER:

Dad,
Life is so wildly good and unpredictable. And, it is also so hard and filled with deep disappointment. I can’t say that I like or enjoy sin, sickness, wars, division or injustice in our world. But, I can say that all the bad certainly gives perspective and balance compared to the beauty. How interesting that our freedom as human beings yields such a vast disparity between what we can behave like and what we end up behaving like towards you and each other. We all share the strongest bond of commonality as people – flesh and blood, yet we divide based on where we live, when we were born and things like wealth, power and status. We’re an interesting creation to say the least. I know one day you will make it all right, and allow us to experience the innocence of unity, wonder and love when you make our old world completely new. I look forward to that day.

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Oh, we are quite contrarian aren’t we?

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” Psalms‬ ‭53:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is one of those psalms I do not like waking up to first thing in the morning.

I love David’s opening line, “only fools.” but then he goes in to describe such a miserable outlook on humans – himself and me included. This is not how I want to face my day and go out to try to do some good, make some right decisions and add to the value of God’s Kingdom somehow.

I do think about the audacity of folks who feel so smart, so sophisticated and self-aware when they declare their disbelief in God. Look around, I think to myself. Who made all this? I ask. Oh, nothing, no one, they say. So when has something come from nothing ever before, I ask. Oh, it’s only happened once and it will never happen again, they say. Is that so? Effect without cause, design without a designer? Wow. That does sound foolish. Their beginning is without purpose and their end is meaningless. Where’d they get these outlandish ideas? From a liar.

From David’s perspective God did look and find no one good. But from God’s perspective and his perfect plan, he looked and saw our humanity through one particular man, the Son of Man, and saw not only good, but righteousness, perfection. Yes, it’s quite the spectacular mystery of grace. And, yes, it’s quite frustrating to live in a world of sin and corruption while waiting for God’s endgame and total completion of his plan.

But while we wait, we get to see the unique beauty of our existence through our fractured and frosted glass of sin – like broken sea-glass that washes on the shore. We get to see the world we’ve made because of our choices – our wars, hatred, jealousy, division and incessant selfishness and self will.

Prayer:

Dad,
What a dark and dim look at ourselves without seeing us through the filter of redemption. Oh, how patient you are. How how long suffering you are with us. You see our end as well as our beginning. I am so thankful you see us, you see me through the perfection of Jesus. I am eternally grateful for your mercy and grace extended through all our human history. Our thoughts and ways are not like yours – yet. But there will come a day where all things will be made right. I look forward to that day.

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Is comparison a bad mental game to play?

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” But as I stood there in silence— not even speaking of good things— the turmoil within me grew worse. The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words:” Psalms‬ ‭39:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David decides to play this game of comparing his life to the life of the unjust, the ungodly. From time to time, in his rise to power and running for his life, he looks around at the wicked and says out loud, “why do they get all the breaks?” “Why do the wicked always win?” In this humorous song, he decides “I’ll just keep my mouth shut and quit complaining and quit comparing my life to theirs.” Ah, but capping or stuffing the thoughts in his head only seemed to boil over and out into a hot mess of fiery words! Geez, the games we play in our head are bound to come leaking out in our words. David thinks, and we think, we can just stop, or steer those words into something useful. But the game of comparison is NOT played out in our words, it’s played in our hearts! And, if we’re going to stop the game from consuming our minds, we have to do so where it starts.

Comparison is a horrible game to play! It’s a devil’s dark game of seeing ourselves better or often worse than someone by guessing at their outcomes. We see someone’s promotion or hear someone’s accolades and seethe. We read of someone’s downfall or failure and we gloat.

When we play this game we always lose. Why? We are only seeing a completely disconnected, parenthetical moment of time. We don’t see the beginning, nor the end. We don’t even see the middle. We just see a glimpse of fame, fortune or promotion on the pedestal and think that represents a whole life. And in that fraction of feelings, we are jealous or proud.

Oh, and if we know or think they are wicked or evil it’s worse in our head because our brains just start firing justice triggers like crazy. We start screaming the same fiery words David did – “evil never deserves a reward!” I appreciate David’s honesty, but I think he should have and we should quit playing the game altogether.

Stop it before it starts. As a believer we should only be looking at our life, our walk, our splinters and gold stars in comparison to Christ and his purpose for our life. When we see others succeed we should be happy for them. When they fall or hurt, we should grieve with them. And when evil seems to triumph through a truly wicked person, we should bring them to God to judge wisely.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Far too often I’ve played this game and I always lose. Someone succeeds, does better than me, or rewarded for my idea – it happens and I have hard time with it. And, for those that are struggling, I find myself thinking, “I’m glad that’s not me…” Ouch. I am so sorry that I get sucked into these. Help me keep my eyes on you and be thankful for everything you’ve done in my life and everything you’ve given me as well. Help me not to compare to others!

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Singing is an extraordinary gift

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.” Psalms‬ ‭105:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Sing to him. Yes, sing his praises. Have you ever thought about it? Singing, making a melody and giving that to song to God. Does everyone feel comfortable singing? CAN everyone sing?

Humans are not the only species to make melodies. Birds sing all the time, but mostly when they feel they are safe. Dogs sing, cats sing, whales, dolphins and donkeys sing. We had a dog that, in certain moods, sounded like she was singing the blues!

I have a strange habit that I’ve developed over the years. I hum without being aware of it. Oftentimes, I’ll be with a group of people praying and someone will nudge me and say, “you know you’re humming, right?” I didn’t know. I seem to do it unconsciously.

Do you sing in the car? The shower? In a group? At church? It’s not at all like talking to yourself! Even though some feel self conscious about singing, it’s perfectly acceptable and often welcomed – even in a crowd of people. You’ve seen the videos of someone on a subway just singing away, sometimes others just join in!

Here’s the thing, as people we get the privilege of putting words to our songs and melodies. Many of the Psalms we read were songs to be sung. In times of joy and in times of fear, my mind has reached into my memories and sang a psalm to express what I’m feeling at that time.

What song comes to mind when you think about how good God is to you? 🎶🎶🎶 “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.”

Jesus even made a very stark musical remark when he told the Pharisees if his disciples had kept silent, the rocks themselves would cry out. Luke used the word “krázō – an onomatopoetic term for a raven’s piercing cry.” Because all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God! In perfect Jesus style he was saying, “We should be embarrassed if we DON’T sing about God!” For us humans, singing is and should be as normal and natural as breathing!

An old song put it this way, you can sing it if you know it: “I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.”

PRAYER:

Dad,
I’m pretty sure I didn’t sing much or not at all before I knew you. I thought songs were interesting, but I don’t remember singing them. And, thankfully I married a singer who loves to sing and express her love and thankfulness to you constantly. Remember, the first time I saw her, she was singing a solo in big church and I was smitten! David’s Psalm reminds and challenges me to sing more, express more about your greatness and your goodness. I think I’ll sing my way to the office today, no radio, no yelling at traffic – just singing. What a privilege we have to sing, make melodies and songs expressing deep feelings towards about you and even towards you.

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Prayer for Ukrainians

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. Protect me from wicked people who attack me, from murderous enemies who surround me. They are without pity. Listen to their boasting! They track me down and surround me, watching for the chance to throw me to the ground. They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart— like young lions hiding in ambush.” Psalms‬ ‭17:8-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The whole world’s eyes are on Ukraine right now. And, as followers of Jesus, I think we should all be praying in unity. I don’t know how this works, but I’m praying Psalm 17 over the Ukrainian people.

We’ve ALWAYS had tyrants in our world history. There have always been men, obsessed with power and control and a hunger for more. Men who’s egos needing to be constantly fed. As I try to sort out what, who and why – there is a glaring sad fact no matter my understanding or opinion.

The poor, the mothers and their children always seem to pay the biggest price. We’ve had a decade of Syrians fleeing their homeland because of one man’s thirst for war and annihilation. Now we have another madman and the refuges are pouring out of their homes and land to seek safety and peace.

David writes about what he wants God to do about it with Israel’s enemies. I’d like God to do that to this pompous leader who craves for more. I ask that you “Arise, O Lord! Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! Rescue [Ukrainians] from the wicked with your sword! By the power of your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants.” Psalms‬ ‭17:13-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬. Bring judgment down on the tyrant and bring peace to the innocent. Intervene Oh Lord and rescue those who have no defense from the wicked.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Let your mercy flood the earth. Let your righteousness, your justice prevail to protect those who have lost everything and seek peace. You brought Syrians out of their own country, where they were betrayed by their own people to see the one true God and find Jesus. I ask for similar for Ukrainians who lost all but will find everlasting peace and joy through your salvation. Raise up your mighty hand of judgement on the wicked and with the other hand shield to protect the innocent. In all of this turmoil may your Kingdom come and your will be done. Amen.

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Lessons to learn from David’s singular truth

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain. But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.”Psalms‬ ‭38:17-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Wow. This entire Psalm of David is so raw and honest. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he must have had Covid… j/k. Who can compare to David’s songs and prayers of repentance? The entire psalm is filled with a mixture of physical, emotional and spiritual pain he is experiencing. As I read it, I feel as though he’s not going to make it, he’s describing the end of his life.

This psalm blows my mind because, in the middle of this physical calamity David 100% attributes the cause to God being angry, himself being guilty as charged and ridding himself of his sins. There is not one ounce of any possibility that he has caught something natural or the result of “general” sin or sickness being a part of our fallen world, Nor does he attribute it to an attack from a very real entity of evil! He completely receives it as FROM God and goes directly to God to admit, repent and wait for judgment to pass. “My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.”

He is NOT expecting to be let off the hook, but asks for the patience go through, and to wait for God to come and relieve his pain. “For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God.” And, “Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.”

I can honestly say, I have never thought about this kind of raw, direct, straight to the point prayer when I have been at my sickest or lowest moments in life. He doesn’t blame a virus, bacteria, infection, a devil or even God himself. He just flat out starts repenting and recognizing his own unworthiness. I am humbled by this and it makes me think about my own mortality, and times of fever, aches or misery. Once again, I am thankful for the lesson and model from David’s own life and the words he left behind for me to reflect on.

PRAYER:

​Dad,
Wow, what a glimpse into a world that I am not comfortable in at all. I know very few who are at the point of extreme pain and solid resolve acceptance of who is really in charge of life itself.

I am normally talking people out of such honest thoughts and prayers when they speak of their own responsibility and repentance for sin! I will not be so foolish to do so again. Mostly, because I realize how little I actually know of such things! How could falsely relieve the tension by pretending that I know of someone’s circumstances? I will also think through my own response to sickness, pain and suffering. I am thankful for David’s honest and pure words.

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Me and my sophisticated idols

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.” Psalms‬ ‭115:3-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​It is interesting to read about idols after listening to Matt Terry speak out of 1 Thessalonians 1 this past Sunday, February 6, 2022. He talked about the “other” side of God’s character that doesn’t get enough airtime – his wrath, fury, justice and holiness. He’s right. I’ve only thought and spoken about God’s love, mercy and peace. God will however judge all and everything. He has too. If God doesn’t judge right from wrong he would owe so many civilizations an apology for destroying them just for the complete and total giving of themselves to idols.

The Psalmist makes the logical argument. Idols are merely things made by humans. We’ve got this ridiculous idea that idols ONLY mean statues, buddhas, carvings or tiny stone figurines that hang from your car mirror or sit on your fireplace mantle. No wonder our “modernized” minds laugh at that and think we’re so advanced.

Who would sacrifice, give money, food, time or children to some weird dime-store tchotchke? Yeah, plenty of cultures still do this, but now they are considered religiously enlightened? Geez.

Well, that’s the big lie! Our idols are much more sophisticated, even digital. And there are thousands of them that demand our time, treasure and talent. They are now hidden in books, movies and games. They’ve gone digital and live on the internet. They are accessible every hour of every day and can be visited (worshipped) in public or in private and no one would even think twice about questioning it. Our idols are everywhere, ubiquitous, obvious and more deadly than ever. And we pretend they don’t exist at all. Idols have gone the way of fairytales and little red devils sitting on shoulders. Yet, they’re more expensive and time consuming as ever! It’s so much easier when we don’t think they exist, we pay, we play with fire and pass it off as entertainment, innocent little time passers or worse – mental health and wellness antidotes.

The Psalmist facts are still true, we just can’t believe we’ve been duped!

Our idols do have mouths (speakers or earbuds) and eyes (cams, infra-red and lidar). I’m not sure about digital noses, hands and feet or mouths, but our idols have far more human characteristics than some stuffy old stone or wood carvings.

Our idols can be blockchained, streamed, and have creepy conversations with us because of advances in artificial intelligence that more than mimics our own minds! Let’s be honest God has MORE reasons to hate our idolatry today than he did the ancients of old because theirs were so obvious. God is the same yesterday, today and forever and it’s not like He will quit being jealous of our god-affairs or giving ourselves away to someone other than Himself. God’s love for me isn’t possessive like our human love. He isn’t controlling either. Your will, my will, is ours to do with as we wish.

But, and this is the core truth, God knows that EVERYTHING we substitutionally worship is FAKE, harmful, destructive and a LIE. So in the tragically delightful story of freedom to do what we want, we have the destructive story of choosing an alternative to God himself! How insidious is that?

I would love to say to myself, go ahead Glenn chase after things that make you look cool, feel better, give you a self-confidence boost – but I must face reality when those things (idols) don’t truly fulfill, truly know or care about me.

They CANNOT respond as God, because they are anti-god. Even if one of my idols is a person or the ideal of a person, they still can’t be God. There is only ONE true God and that God HATES for us to have constant affairs with modern-marvels or idols.

I don’t know maybe I’m all whacked about this. I just know that anytime I set or have my affections on something or someone that is not God, I better ask the Holy Spirit about it and check the idol list again. Let me know if this is just me being weird or there is something to all this.

PRAYER:

Dad,
You have given me EVERYTHING! And I know you have always wanted the best for me. Help me destroy my idols and keep them from coming back.

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What can mere mortals do? A LOT!

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalms‬ ‭56:3-4, 9-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David, with promises of a future in his head, faces his daily routine of running for his life in this season. This chapter has such a unique heading, “To the tune of ‘A Dove on Distant Oaks’. When the Philistines had seized David in Gath.” I think this is when David feigned crazy and it worked!

Here’s the thing, David not only faces his fears, he lists them, writes about them and walks us through how he processes those feelings. Currently, the phrase for these ANTS (automatic negative thoughts) is “name it to tame it!” Get it out in the open before God and deal with it instead of letting it bounce around in our head causing all kinds of havoc!

I’ve written about David’s emotionally honest prayers and how effective they are to read and ride those crummy circumstances all the way down to the bottom and let David’s words of truth about God’s character lift us back up again.

David uses this phrase about “mere mortals” twice! So, what can mortals, man or flesh do to us? They can attack, hurt, lie about, tear down and erode the way we think. One powerfully placed NEGATIVE question can cause me to spin-cycle and doubt my effectiveness and worth for days! I hate it!

David’s ability to reframe, not just his circumstances, but his views of God are CRITICAL to stopping the blame-shame game in my head. Dave also repeats the most important phrase in this passage, “I trust in God.” I TRUST in God.

PRAYER:

Dad,
This is a big struggle for me. I can go for days or weeks with no battles, real or mental. But then, when they come, man they are fierce. And, they are so hard to shake. I am getting better at recognizing how powerful these mental struggles are, but I am slow to take them to you, speak them out and let you help me kick them out of my head and replace them with truth about who you are!

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The MOST reliable, stable, true and enduring thing I can know

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven. Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created. Your regulations remain true to this day, for everything serves your plans.” Psalms‬ ‭119:89-91‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We now know that God’s eternal word, as referred to here in the Psalms, wasn’t just commands written in ink on scrolls or finger-lasered by God on stone. It was Jesus, the son of God. The word is a person not just ideas, concepts or even doctrines. And Jesus does stand firm in heaven.

His faithfulness is extending to THIS generation, whether that be Millennials, Z’s or Alpha’s. It’s kinda sad that we’ve given human age groupings names like bad storms. Plus, His regulations or ways remain true today and everything does serve Jesus’ plans. In other translations vs 91 says “they” referring to heaven and the earth. The word “regulations” are Jesus’ judgements (מִשְׁפָט mishpat: judgment).

Three things I observe from these passages:

  • One, God’s word is eternal.
  • Two: God’s word is thankfully extended (endures and abides/stands) to each one of the generations that are passing through time. The way generations are counted, it is possible that there have only been about 100 or so generations from Adam until today – just a hundred!
  • Three: God’s word remains true through all of our entire human history (and beyond). It is THE most true, most enduring, unchanging entity (person) we have known or will ever know. It’s also the most real entity in our existence!

Ahhh, the Word is more real, true and trustworthy than even the laws that govern our universe. The laws of gravity, energy or matter are LESS trustworthy than God’s Word! The Psalmist declares an ancient truth here that defies our understanding of reality. We can’t imagine “doubting” gravity, but we have no problem doubting what God says? Geez, that’s heavier than Uranium (a little element joke there)!

As a follower of Jesus, I should have ZERO doubt in God’s Word and also have ultimate TRUST in His plans. The psalmist adds, “everything serves God’s plans.” Whew. I can sleep better and rest from trying to control people or running the world. God’s got this!

PRAYER:

​Dad,
I don’t purposely TRY to worry or doubt, it just seems to creep up and grab me when I am going through difficult times or, I don’t know, like our world going through a multi-year pandemic!

I read your Psalms, your sacred songs and I can breath a little easier realizing how BIG you are and how very small I am. I can learn to trust in your Word because it IS the most reliable, stable, true and enduring thing I can know. I am learning so much of your character through your Word. Thank you.