Day 25 of my spiritual journey through Lent.
Readings Psalm 25, 55, 85, 115, 145 Proverbs 25
Several of the psalms of the day have become popular praise songs (3rd Day, Chris Tomlin) These are great psalms, got to read them!
My Hope is in you Lord. “Hope” is a great word, our church plant in far East Dallas is called “New Hope”. It was a clever name as it took over the property of the decommissioned church “Hope”. David gives us this idea of “hoping in God”, my translation is “trusting our future to Him”.
1To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
What is your hope on today? Do you hope for a relationship to come your way? A better job? The lottery? Transfer your day dreaming on Him.
I love the ending of Psalm 85,
8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say;
he promises peace to his people, his saints— but let them not return to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.
Dispensationalists interpret these verses as messianic, as looking toward a future of Christ’s reign on earth. I hope not. I can see the people of God experiencing these kingdom principles here today, not perfectly but abundantly. We are to seek the peace of those around us, why not?
Psalm 115 has been made into another current praise song (Tomlin)
1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD—
small and great alike.
14 May the LORD make you increase,
both you and your children.
Psalm 145 Does not fail to lift our souls to God. Don’t stop reading . . .keep going. This Psalm is so amazing – its an alphabetic acrostic psalm. In other words, each verse begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, beginning with Aleph then Bet . . .etc.
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Proverbs 25 has so much for us to consider, especially to watch what we say.
“Do not betray another man’s confidence”, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver”. Lord, I need wisdom, I want to learn to be more careful with my lips, tongue and discussions. I love the next verse,
“Like clouds and wind without rain is the man who boasts of gifts he does not give” – kind of like over-promising and under-delivering. Been there, done that have the scars to show. But does God do this? It seems like all over Scripture we get tons of promises from God, but does He come through? I am convinced he does but I am not you. I have an idea, go through and make a note of all His promises to you that can be verified in life today. There are some conditions though. You can't live an "ungodly" life and expect blessed life. See what happens.
27 It is not good to eat too much honey,
nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor.
28 Like a city whose walls are broken down
is a man who lacks self-control.
Dang it, why? Okay, Lord I will give up the sweets, the props I give myself and the lack of self-control. But . . . . no!
Lord, work in me such things, keep reminding me and move me daily to repentance. I need you today more than ever!
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