Psalm 61-62; Psalm 64-67
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Today we read Psalm 61, which has some powerful verses for us to meditate upon when the storms of life come crashing down upon us. This Psalm reminds us of who is indeed our true Rock – our true Refuge. Verses 1 through 5 are so powerful to meditate upon when you are going through a storm in your life –
“Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
For you have heard my vows, O God;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.”
Today we read in Psalm 62 verse 11 - "God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you." This is a powerful verse - no pun intended. . . :) Really, think about it. Where does power come from? Who gives power? Who takes it away? I think it is such a blessing when we truly understand this verse and then live it out. When we realize that we really have no power of our own. Any power - any thing - we have comes from God and God alone. And thank God for that. It's when we start believing we create or own or control power that we begin to get prideful or we'll misuse the power given to us. I think a great teaching on where power truly comes from comes from Jesus when he is before Pilate in John chapter 19 verses 10 & 11 - "“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above."" Where do you think your power to do anything at all comes from? Do you believe it was given to you from above? If so, how might truly realizing this change how you live your life? How might it change how you utilize the power given to you?
Psalm 64 verse 10 is beautiful - "The godly will rejoice in the LORD and find shelter in him." Do you consider God a shelter for your life? When storms come into your life, do you find shelter in God? How about the Bible? Is the Bible a sort of shelter in your life? Do you find refuge in the Bible?
Bible.org's commentary on Psalm 64 titled "A Prayer for Protection from the Conspiracy of Terror" is at this link.
Psalm 65 has some amazing verses about nature! I love verse 8 - "Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy."
When is the last time you have been inspired to shout for joy to God for the beautiful sunset he created?
Verse 7 of Psalm 65 says this - "You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations." When is the last time you have stood in complete silence before God because of his beautiful Creation?
Psalm 66 verses 1 & 2 are awesome! "Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is." Do you tell the world about how glorious God is? How do you do this? Think these kids below might be singing & shouting joyfully to God? Think there is anything we might be able to learn from these kids? :)
Psalm 67 verse 2 today sounds very Great Commission-ish: "May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere." It's interesting to read this verse when just recently I was reading a review in my local newspaper about a book that "exposes" evangelical Christians. (of which I am one) This book really dives into how "successful" evangelical Christians are in "recruiting" young adults ages 20 to 35 with their ministries. And this book reviewer - and the book author - were very disdainful of Christianity. Saying it threatened secular society... and this just made me realize that the more we do indeed make God's ways known throughout the earth - the more we introduce people to God's saving power among people everywhere - well, then the secular world will push back big time with books and reviews like the one I read. And the secular world will even push back in more severe ways as well. This makes me realize that indeed our efforts to make God's was known - God's love, grace, mercy, salvation, call to repentance - are being noticed by others. But hopefully more than just being noticed by others, let us pray that our Kingdom work actually introduces others to God's only son Jesus, who transforms hearts and lives for eternity!
Worship God: Psalm 67:2 reminds me the amazing song "My Redeemer Lives" by Nicole C. Mullen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKrBqD7uhBM
Do you know our Redeemer lives? Click here for Life!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you." Psalm 62:11 NLT
Prayer Point: Pray that you would not rely on your own power, but will rely only on God's power in you. Pray that you will always humbly know that power belongs to God alone.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
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