Meditations Psalm 33 Our only hope is God

No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
(Psalm 33:16-19 NIV)

Ironically I think the place I put my hope outside of God is in my ministry with InterVarsity. Maybe it is subconscious but it becomes apparent sometimes when I feel righteous or successful because of what I am doing for InterVarsity. It is even more apparent went things aren't going well, when less people come to InterVarsity events or the bible study I lead or people in InterVarsity are not growing closer to God's heart.

I want to learn to trust in you Lord. I want my hope for salvation in your stripes, death and resurrection. I want to be faithful to serve you and bring your kingdom but rejoice in you Lord in times of success and times of discouragement.
Amen

Meditation Psalm 32: Be quick to confess

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,"

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him.

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,

and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Psalm 32:3-6, 11 ESV)

My natural tendency when I hurt someone or sin is often to justify and be defensive before others and God. But like David, my acts weigh upon my heart. I have been trying to live in a reflex of confession and seeking forgiveness. I am starting a new phase of my life in ministry and I am making lots of mistakes. In trying so hard I have lost sight of other things and hurt people I care about. Lord please guide me to live by your righteousness. But when I fail and hurt others and you Lord please help me to be quick to see, confess and repent. For you are forgiving. Help me to love others and humble myself to admit when I am wrong to them an ask forgiveness.
Amen

Meditation: Psalm 22 Doubt and fear

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest. In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame. Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother's breast. I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you. (Psalm 22:1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 22 NIV)

David is fearful and doubts. He is suffering and endangered in ways many of us never experience. I live safe and well fed in America. But people throughout the world live most of their life afflicted and in danger. David has cried out to the Lord and he feels abandoned. Yet, even then David trusts his Lord and remembers Gods faithfulness to him and to those who came before him.

I was not looking forward to this psalm after the first two verses, but when I read through to the end I found strength and faith. I pray that like David I would trust in the Lord even when I feel alone and when I feel God has not answered my cry. For God is faithful. He has been faithful before and he remain faithful.

And we know David was saved in this time of affliction.

Yet more important was the joy of his salvation in the Lord. For I think the Spirit revealed the day of Jesus an d his salvation. David wrote:

All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
(Psalm 22:27-31 NIV)

And I proclaim Jesus is Lord and savior. He has done it!

Amen

Slow down and see God's beautiful creation

Do we even take time to slow down and appreciate the Majesty and Beauty around us of God's creation.

This was taken when I stopped on my way in to do errands and shop at king soopers. This is one of God's gift to me and to you.

Meditation Psalm 21 Joy in your presence Lord

Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty. Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
(Psalm 21:5-7 NIV)

The Lord blessed David abundantly with the kingdom, with wealth, with power, with wives. But the greatest blessing of all was the Lords presence with David. David rejoiced not in the gifts and blessings of God but in the psalm David writes he is glad because of the joy of your presence Lord.

Lord I want to rejoice in your presence as your Spirit dwells in me and brings me into deep relationship with you the Father and the Son. Thank you Lord for the many blessings in my life. But I have joy and purpose because you revealed yourself and walked with me on this journey to faith and now ministry.
Amen

2 Kings 6: The Lords Army with Elisha

This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, "Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?" "None of us, my lord the king," said one of his officers, "but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom." "Go, find out where he is," the king ordered, "so I can send men and capture him." The report came back: "He is in Dothan." Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, "Strike this army with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria. After they entered the city, Elisha said, "Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see." Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?" "Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master." So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.
(2 Kings 6:11-23 NIV)

I love this passage. From the eyes of the world Elisha seems to have lost and God abandoned him to the mighty army of the King of Aram. But Elisha sees what the world does not see. He is surrounded by an army of the Lord that is greater than the army that opposes him. And Elisha opens his servants eyes to see. How beautiful that vision must have been of a real and powerful God protecting and saving them. I imagine the grandeur and light shining from heaven upon the army of the Lord.

God I am like the servant. I am blind to your spiritual and physical forces. I see the surrounding army and all that fight against me and you. I despair and fear. Please open my eyes to see your power and presence. For where you call you provide. You promise us persecution and you also promise us eternal life and protection.

But the story of Elisha does not en the way we might expect. The Lords army does not destroy the human army opposing Israel. Instead Elisha prays and the whole enemy army is blinded and he guides them to Samaria where the army of Israel surrounds them. And still the story gets stranger. They don't capture the army of Aram. They throw a feast and treat their enemies well. Through all of this the lord gave Israel protection and victory while teaching them to trust him and love their enemies. For the text says that as a result of this power and love instead of violence the army from Aram stops raiding Israel.

Thank you Lord for your love and protection! I want to trust in you more everyday Lord. I want to call upon your name as I seek and find you more.
Amen

Meditation: psalm 20 Trust in the Lord who saves us

Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
(Psalm 20:6-8 NIV)

Too often I trust in things that fail. I trust in my own abilities, technology, plans and they fail. Even in ministry far too often I try to do things from my own gifts and strength and wisdom. But Lord I am sorry and I want to trust in you alone. For you alone do not fail. It is hard to feel out of control and trust you Lord. But you have been faithful. Please help us to trust in you. For we know that you save those you love and those you have called.

Who is it that you love?
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NIV)

Thank you Lord for your Love, for your Son and for your faithfulness!
Amen