Archive | December 2014

Psalms 19

Dec16

Good morning y’all. Today we are looking at Psalms 19.

Be blessed 🙂

Creation speaks of God’s Majesty and His wonders. Verse 1-4 tells of how the heavens declare His glory and the skies declare what He has done. Even though they don’t talk, but yet through them we see God’s glory and beauty.

“The heavens keep telling the wonders of God, and the skies declare what he has done.  Each day informs the following day; each night announces to the next.  They don’t speak a word, and there is never the sound of a voice. Yet their message reaches all the earth, and it travels around the world. In the heavens a tent is set up for the sun” (Psalms 19:1-4 CEVUS06)

How great is our God! I am reminded of the lyrics of the famous hymn; Oh Lord my God –

“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God; to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God; to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!”

David goes on to tell us about the beauty of God’s word in verse 7 – 10.

“The Law of the Lord is perfect; it gives us new life. His teachings last forever, and they give wisdom to ordinary people.  The Lord’s instruction is right; it makes our hearts glad. His commands shine brightly, and they give us light.  Worshiping the Lord is sacred; he will always be worshiped. All his decisions are correct and fair.  They are worth more than the finest gold and are sweeter than honey from a honeycomb” (Psalms 19:7-10 CEVUS06)

Friends, We should desire God’s word above very other else. We should seek it more than Gold. It’s in reading and studying Gods word that we get to know Him better and understand what His will is.

In the last 3 verses of this psalm, we see a man that understands the damage sin can do to ones life, if one doesn’t pay attention. David knew that of his own might, he couldn’t win the battle against his flesh. The battle can only be won with the help of God. Hence his request to God to keep him from sinning deliberately and to be pleasing to him both in words and thoughts.

“None of us know our faults. Forgive me when I sin without knowing it. Don’t let me do wrong on purpose, Lord, or let sin have control over my life. Then I will be innocent, and not guilty of some terrible fault. Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to you, Lord, because you are my mighty rock and my protector” (Psalms 19:12-14 CEVUS06)

Friends are you struggling today with a particular sin. You”ve made promises to God that you won’t do them, yet you keep going back to it. Don’t beat urself up, you are not alone. David here too struggled and He knew to run to God and not away from him. He cried out to God to help him from sinning purposefully.

I believe we need to do the same. We need to surrender our weaknesses to God and stop trying to overcome them in our strength. Romans 8:12-13 says: “My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God’s Spirit you say “No” to your desires” (CEVUS06). Let’s turn to him for help today.

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. We praise your Holy name. Thank you for forgiving our sins and giving us a new start. Lord, may the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight oh Lord. Pls keep us from sinning on purpose and don’t let sin have control over our lives. Thank you Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen

Thank you for joining today. Pls feel free to share your thoughts on the chapter.

Have a blessed day 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Psalms 18

Dec15

Good morning y’all. Happy Monday :). Today, we looking at Psalms 18.

I am reading the psalm from the Contemporary English Version.

Be blessed 🙂

There are 4 main points I want to bring out from the psalm.

1) God is our only true source of safety and protection. He is the go to person when things are good and when they are bad. Man can only do so  much for us, but God, has unlimited power and resource. He can never fail. David understood this very well hence his statement in verse 1 and 2; “I love you, Lord God, and you make me strong. You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon, and my place of shelter”.

2) When we pray to God, we can be sure He hears us. Verse 6 says: “I was in terrible trouble when I called out to you but from your holy temple you heard me and answered my prayer”. David was in distress and He called to God and He answered him.

Who do you turn to in your time of distress and troubles? Friends, let’s turn to God. He is the only one who can truly help us. The strength of man will fail us but the strength of God will give us victory.

Sometimes, we don’t pray, because we are not sure God will answer us. Let me encourage you with the scriptures below …
“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for”(1 John 5:14-15 NLT).

“You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.  Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:13-14 NLT)

“In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me”. (Jeremiah 29:12-13 NLT)

Friends, Whatever it is, let’s take it to the Lord in prayer today.

3) Sin / disobedience will hinder our prayers from being heard and answered.
Psalm 66:18 says: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear” (NKJV). Sin makes us ashamed and unworthy to come before God, hence when we come before him, we are not free to ask because we know we haven’t done the things He asked of us. The guilt and condemnation from disobedience makes us want to run or hide from God like Adam did after he ate of the forbidden fruit.

David could confidently call on God for help because he knew he had been obedient to God and done the things God expected of him. Verse 20 to 24 says:
“You are good to me, Lord, because I do right, and you reward me because I am innocent.  I do what you want and never turn to do evil. I keep your laws in mind and never look away from your teachings.  I obey you completely and guard against sin.  You have been good to me because I do right; you have rewarded me for being innocent by your standards” (Psalms 18:20-24 CEVUS06).

Today lets make a decision to be obedient to God and guard against sin in our lives. I once heard a pastor say this about sin.

“When you allow sin to find room in your life, you are simply making room for destiny losses. Sin is an open invitation to reproach, and an express approval for destruction”.

4) We need to be thankful and grateful. David was very good at thanking and praising God for the things He had done for him and for the things He was going to do. In this psalm, we see him praise and thank God for answering him.
“You are the living Lord! I will praise you. You are a mighty rock. I will honor you for keeping me safe”.
“I will praise you, Lord, and I will honor you among the nations” (Psalms 18:46, 49 CEVUS06).

Some of us behave like ingrates. When we want something from God we are so desperate and will do anything for it but once God answers us we forget to go back and thank him. We are like the ten lepers that got healed and only one came back to thank God.

Friends,  let’s cultivate the habit of thanksgiving and praising God at all times. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (NKJV)

Prayer
Dear Lord thank you for today. Today, we ask for grace to always turn to you for help. Help us not to rely on our own strength or that of man. Help us be obedient and guard against sin in our lives. Help us learn to be thankful and grateful, whether in the good or bad times. Thank you Lord.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed day.

***With God all things are possible***