Psalm 138 - you answered me

I have a problem with priorities. I am very productive but I don't know how to prioritize. I may spend a productive week making canned food, doing fun yet educational field trips with the kids, and sorting through the big stack of papers on the counter but I will not have touched the laundry all week and the pot with baked on lasagna is still soaking in the sink for the third day in a row. My time isn't always spent wisely. So I asked God, what are my priorities? And He answered me. The two most important things that He has exalted and prioritized is given in verse 2. He has exalted above all things His name and His word, everything else will file in rank behind those or be used for that purpose. Purpose, hmm, that has been another struggle for me in link with priorities. When you don't have a clear purpose or goal then you don't have anything you are working on or towards. Laziness, confusion, depression, complacency and other such tendencies start to take over. So I asked God, what is my purpose? And He answered me. In verse 8 He says He WILL fulfill his purpose for me, His love endures forever, so I too pray that He will not abandon the works of His hands in me. So if I am prioritizing His name and His word in my life than my purpose and the works He is doing in me WILL be fulfilled. It is what He will do because of His love not because I am special or highly productive but because I prioritized the right thing. The Lord who is on high still looks upon lowly little me and preserves my life in troubles and saves me against my enemies. I can confidently move forward in the direction He wants me to live. Towards Him.

Psalm 136 - thankfully endured

Not much lasts these days, in fact our culture has gotten very fast and disposable. We want it now but for cheap and we want to be able to throw it out and start all over again next season when the trend changes. But there is something that lasts, it is the reason we were created, it has sustained humanity for centuries and it is what will last to the end of the age. God's love. It doesn't just last, it endures. It is a gritty word that implies it has been through the trenches and fights for us. His Love sees us through the thick and thin, protects us, and even remains when we reject it. Psalm 136 lists the things to be thankful for because of God's faithful enduring love. Verses 1-3 speaks of His very character, his goodness and his power above all other things. Verse 4-9 thank God for His great wonders, creation, and the purpose and order it all contains. Verses 10-15 recount God's deliverance of His people from Egypt and praise His power over nations and nature. Verses 16-22 express gratitude for Gods leadership in troubles, victory over enemies and rewards received. The chapter wraps us with praising God for remembering humanities weaknesses, giving them freedom from their enemies, and providing for our every need. Take a moment to account your our own testimony of God's love in your life. Praise Him for who He is and what He has done in your life. Thank him for the salvation from our own captivity and slavery to sin, for the deserts in your life, for the victory of His son Jesus in your life, and the provisions He makes for you. Remember the times you were unfaithful to Him and praise Him for his enduring faithfulness and love. How will you express your gratitude today? Who is God calling you to love with an endurance like His?

Psalm 134 - do your job

What was the worst job you ever had? I worked at a coffee shop in college where the boss kept our tips then used a portion of them to take 3 of the pretty girl employees out for a fancy dinner and drinking. I've had to remove leeches as a lifeguard, endured scorching heat in jeans and boots as I shoveled patch into potholes, and now I get to clean up poopy and vomit as a mom. There are a lot of dirty jobs out there but someone has to do it. Psalm 134 reminds me that God created everyone and that He created people different for different jobs. I would pass out if I had to administer a shot but my neighbor does it on a weekly basis for her job. Some people run farm equipment while others run companies. And even the jobs we like have aspects that aren't glamourous. This psalm teaches me that God values all positions in life and career if you are working for Him and give Him the glory in all that you do. How can you honor Him today in what you have to do? Are you honoring him in your business practices, your speech towards your co-workers, are you respecting your boss and living out your faith in your workplace? Do you pray for the people you encounter in a day? Do your job as if you were doing it for the Lords approval and give Him the glory in all you do.

Psalm 132 - dwelling place

Psalm 132 has some wonderful promises in it including the promise to David that his family would rule forever. That came true hundreds of years later when Jesus who was a descendant of David came to earth as fully man and fully God, conquering sin and death, was resurrected and raised to sit on the right hand of God. He will come again to fully eliminate sin and death and rule those who put their faith in Him with peace and love. In the old covenant/testament God's spirit would come and go. In the new covenant/testament we are given the Holy Spirit as a gift and seal of our salvation through Jesus. Old Testament God's spirit would dwell in Zion, the mountain that Jerusalem and the temple were built. Now God's Holy Spirit dwells in us. So these "I will" Old Testament promises God makes can also teach us what it is like to live with the Spirit in us. These are kind of like what the New Testament explains about the fruit of the Spirit. Starting in verse 13, God chooses where He will dwell as He chooses us. We aren't anything special and Zion wasn't either, it became special because God chose it. He makes it his resting place forever. When we receive God's Spirit after confession of our sins and submission to His son's Lordship so we receive the Holy Spirit that will never leave us no matter how many times we fail Him. Next it says He sits enthroned. That means He rules your life without contention. He shouldn't be up out of his throne wrestling you for control. Verse 15 says we will be blessed with abundant provisions and the poor will be satisfied with food. Not only our our needs met but we are given abundantly more. He lavishes us but we aren't given abundant provisions so we can use them for our own benefit. He created us as relational community beings, we are suppose to help one another with what we have been given. We make up the slack for each other, we have different gifts that are suppose to contribute to the body. I get thrilled when I find a forgotten $20 in a coat pocket, but maybe that wasn't found again so I could go buy a latte and magazine. Maybe it was to buy a friend who needs to talk a latte too or for the guy behind you in line or maybe you could put it anonymously in a single mom's mailbox with an encouraging note. My point is ask yourself if your gifts and abundance is it for you or could it be used to glorify God or for someone else to feel God's love through you. Verse 16 talks of being clothed in salvation. Clothing protects us and equips us for situations and tasks. You don't wear a summer dress in a snow storm. You put on a paint shirt to do art projects and you need camouflage to go hunting. God's salvation can see us through anything that comes our way, it changes, like clothing to prepare us and equip us for what is at hand. Lastly, we are always able sing for joy. No matter what, no matter how bad, with God's Spirit we can sing for joy. We might not be happy, we might be in some pretty thick doo doo but as we learn to trust him and give control to him we learn to sing in the good times and seemingly bad times. When we know he is in charge of the bad times and caused them and uses them for good, we can have joy. This isn't easy and we never can accomplish these things without God's Spirit in us. Will you take a moment to ask God to renew His Spirit within you? Have you received His Spirit by accepting His gift of salvation through His son Jesus's death on the cross? Why or why not?

Psalm 130 - confident expectation

I learned once that when I see hope in the Bible it means a confident expectation that what is said will be. It might just be a matter of time, not a matter of if. Hoping in God is not a gamble we take where it might or might not come to be, it will. Hope and patience have to go hand in hand. Verse 5 says to wait on the Lord and put your hope in His word. Are you faithfully reading his word? Or are you reading books about God instead of the book that is God's own words to you? Are you reading God's book full of stories of unfailing love and full redemption? These are the reasons verse 7 gives us why we should hope in the Lord. Because the Lord is unfailing love and is full redemption. That isn't something we hope He does, those are the very nature of who He IS. If you are disappointed in life it is not because your circumstances are so much worse than anyone else's problems, it is because your hope isn't in the Lord. Only the Lord offers unfailing love, not your husband, not your kids, friends, family, church, society, or anything or anyone human. Even the best pet in the world will die someday. Only the Lord offers forgiveness and full redemption, no one or nothing can deliver that fully to you either. Only God himself through sending His son who is fully God will redeem Israel/us from all sins. Nothing we did earned that forgiveness and full redemption. Praise God for who He is: Full Redemption and Unfailing Love and put your hope in Him by reading and understanding His words to you in the Bible. How will you wait for today in confident expectation that his love and grace will handle?

Psalm 128 - Fruitful

I visited my friend's gorgeous garden this past weekend. Her plot is 5 times the size of mine. Her husband has provided the means for them to have a large place in the country that has a perfect plot location for a large successful garden. My husband bought me a plot in the community garden where I am limited by the club's rules and regulations. Psalm 128 is a marriage prayer and it tells the husband that he will eat the fruit of his labor, that blessings and prosperity will be his. Then the next verse references his wife, that she will be like a fruitful vine within the house. To me this tells me that a man works and enjoys his wife's efforts. And a wife is to produce with what she has been given by her husband. So back to the gardens. It isn't fair to look jealously at my friends garden and make excuses that if I only had what she had then I would have better tomatoes and room to plant potatoes. If only my husband could provide me a place in the country I could have a better garden, if only my husband could make more money then I would have a nicer things to give to others and my kids, if only he'd clean up after himself I could spend more time reading my bible and not cleaning, if only my husband got a better job I could stay home with the kids, if only he would tell me he loved me more I would be able to sleep with him more, if only if only if only then I'd..... We are not limited by our husbands, it is a two way street, a dependent relationship. He labors, we produce fruit from his labor, he eats of it and is blessed and becomes more prosperous. But we get stuck comparing ourselves to other wives or worse our husbands to other husbands and limit our production or worse yet, try to labor ourselves for our own fruits. When we hoard our resources, time, energy, and finances from our husbands we aren't working in relationship we are working against it. Stop complaining that he isn't everything you wish he was and start praying you can be the fruitful vine God has intended you to be. Ask God to show you how to use the means He's given you through your husband to bless your husband and serve him. I know my husband is a happier camper when he is well fed, he needs spiritual and emotional nourishment from me too. Think through some of the things you need to be a fruitful vine and what the practical application is to your life. A fruitful vine needs to be well rooted in fertile soil, watered, enough sunlight, something strong to climb, pruning, and protection against pest and disease.

Psalm 126 - tears to joy

When the Lord returns His people to himself there is great hope that is expressed in happy dreams, laughter and songs of joy. Everyone will marvel and agree that it is the Lord that does great things for His people and that he will restore their tears and sadness with joy and plenty. Are you receiving discipline from God or still feel captive to a sin? Do you see His correction and draw back to Him as loving and hopeful or as unfair punishment? What area of your life needs returned to God? What great things has He done in your life? What areas in your life seem like a loss of time, energy or resources? Do you trust God to turn your tears into songs of joy? Have you asked the Redeemer to transform your situation to good?

Psalm 124 - snares

Snare traps are usually used for smaller animals like birds, squirrels, and the like. Some are designed to kill but most are just designed to catch the animal so the hunter can determine if it will be released or used for food. Most traps work to catch a neck or a leg with a noose that is tied down. The best place to put traps is by a food or water source or a creatures home. Baiting a trap is even more effective because it lures it close instead of just hoping it comes near by. Of course you use bait that the creature is familiar with and is alluring. Oh such is sin in our life. Most of the time it isn't going to kill us right away but it will certainly trap us. It hangs out by our homes and the areas we most go. It lures us with things we like or think we need. But once we are hooked we are done for. We might not even realize we are trapped as we sit eating the bait meanwhile our foot is in a noose. One we realize we are caught the harder we pull the tighter it gets. Creatures may even gnaw off their own leg for freedom but this psalm assures us the the Lord will break the trap and set us free if we go to Him for salvation. So often we would rather try to get ourselves out of trouble but it is so much better and healthier to have God remove us from snares. We will become injured and exhausted and risk our own life trying to free ourselves. Verse 8 says our hope is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. How does this give you hope in your circumstances? Why does the fact that He is Creator give you courage and confidence to ask His help to be freed instead of trying to do it yourself? Stop chewing and start praying for freedom from the snares of your life.

Psalm 116 - To the guy who has it all

My father-in-law has everything he needs. If he wants something he is so financially secure, he just buys it, in cash, even if it is a backhoe or new car. If he doesn't already have it or can't buy it, he just makes it. He is an inventor by hobby and in the 15 years I've know him, I am completely convinced there isn't anything he couldn't figure out how to make. A guy like this is nearly impossible to impress and completely impossible to buy a birthday gift for. He has been so generous to us so much so that any sort of gift or thing we lend or give him seems like a weak gesture in comparison if we thought our attempts were to repay him. We do find great pleasure in giving back a little to his grand generosity whenever we can. But not to keep a tally of value in an attempt to repay him but in a small gesture of thankfulness for all the times he has lavished us with things, time and skills. The difference in giving to repay versus giving in gratitude to what has been given you is the mark of a true believer. So often we try to earn God's love, favor or salvation by our actions instead of in response and appreciate to His love, favor and salvation. Or too often we give up on ourselves thinking what could we possible offer the guy whose already got it all. This psalm helped me see how I can respond to God's awesomeness. Thankfully it repeats itself so we don't miss it in verses 13-14 and 17-18. Be thankful to the salvation God has given you, continue to trust Him by calling on His name, and fulfill the service and purpose God has for your life in a way that gives your testimony to other people. Christianity isn't a private religion at least it shouldn't be. We've been reminded continually to shout out in the great assemblies of God's goodness, faithfulness, and about his salvation. We can't ever repay it but we can live in thankfulness to it. And don't cheapen, negate, or control a gift by offering something for it. Just say thanks and live life like you mean it.

Psalm 116 Questions -

1. Why do you love the Lord?

2. What are some of God's attributes highlighted in this psalm?

3. What trials in life has he seen you through or rescued you from?

4. Are you restless for the next thing, for fall to come, for school to start, to move, to get promoted, to go on vacation? Do you rest and content where you are at with God or do you always want the next thing, then you will be happy?

5. What does verse 9 explain as the reason that God has saved us, kept our eyes from tears, and our feet from stumbling?

6. Are you grieving a death of a loved one? How does verse 15 comfort you?

7. Are you serving in payment or gratitude to God?

Psalm 114 - praying mantis

I found a cocoon as a kid and I was so excited to watch it hatch into a butterfly. I put it in a baggie and hung it over the register in my room. I checked it constantly waiting for the big moment. One day it finally happened, I checked the bag but to my horror it seemed to be filled with spiders. I called in my dad who realized that they were actually praying mantises. He was excited because his peach tree was under attack by harmful insects and he said that praying mantis were very helpful to use as a natural defense. He gently scattered them at the base of his peach tree and I like to think that my little mantises served their purpose and saved the tree. What struck me about Psalm 114 was how God's power is over all things but He also has the transforming power to take one thing into another. He turned a rock into a pool, into springs of water. I expected a cocoon to turn into a butterfly, but there was a different transformation occurring, a different purpose that needed fulfilled. I think we give up on God and ourselves so easily when we don't transform into butterflies and fail to see the purpose in being transformed into a praying mantis. God can take the hard things in your life and turn them into good, life giving things. He can transform the rough spots of your character into a refreshing source of life for yourself and others. Won't you come into His presence today and experience the sanctification process He has planned for you.

Psalm 110 - Savior and Lord

Have you asked Jesus to be your savior but not submitted to His lordship? Do you want the life preserver ring but refuse to get in the boat in fear that you will have to follow the captains rules for his ship. If you were the prodigal son from the Luke15 parable would you insist on working in your father's house to earn your place back in His family or would you accept the grace and come back under the head of the household? Perhaps you haven't accepted Jesus at all, you think you can rule your own life and make your own choices. This says that the Lord will crush kings and rulers on the day of wrath, the final judgement day. This psalm also explains that the Messiah is also our priest forever. Read Hebrews 5-8 to get a greater understanding for what this means. How does the knowledge that God has promised then delivered a Savior for the world improve your confidence in Him and his ways? How does that impact your life today?

Psalm 108 - Steadfast

I choked on the first four words of this psalm. "My heart is steadfast." Steadfast is not a description of my heart, it is what I would like to be described as but in current condition I am more fickle, unfocused and flaky than steadfast. Maybe yours is broken, calloused or guarded. The love for my husband, children, family, friends, my life, and my God is constantly wavered by my selfish desires for sleep, personal agenda, emotional fulfillment, gratitude, and material things. Steadfast is a grit your teeth sort of word, I imagine a weathered sailor hands still firmly on the wheel in the eye of the storm or battered soldier still raising the flag and charging forward sword drawn. Already in the time frame I've sat down to write this I've refilled my coffee, answered a text and phone call, helped my son get breakfast started, and gone to the bathroom. Really, I am not steadfast enough to even write a paragraph or two. I might as well give up. But maybe being steadfast is not about how much you fall off the path but how determined you are about getting back on track. That salty old sailor probably gets knocked down in the waves of the storm but He gets up and grabs the wheel again. We need to keep our hands on the Word of God to help us navigate in the storms of life. The soldier will get wounded in battle but he realizes there is no victory in a retreat so He raises his flag, arms himself with the sword and marches forward into more fights. We have to realize their is a war waging out there around us and that we must be under God's banner and arm ourselves with the sword of truth found in His word. It is how we can march forward steadfastly. We will get wounded but it is about continuing on toward the direction of victory not giving up or retreating. The end of the chapter promises with God we will gain the victory. He will trample down our enemies. Christ's return with calm the storm and He will win the war. In the meantime, grit your teeth and steadfastly cling to God and his promises in His word.

Psalm 108 Questions -

1. What is the condition of your heart?

2. Does your soul sing? Or is it just your mouth uttering words. Does your brain understand the words, does your heart throb in repentance, does your soul sing with joy and thanksgiving?

3. Do you awaken the dawn and start the morning with God, singing His praises?

4. Do we end our prayers short with just asking for help? Do we ask for victory? Do we ask for great things to be done so we can give God the glory?

5. Look up to the sky. God's love and faithfulness reaches higher. Do you know that love? Do you ask for eyes to see it and a heart to feel it and a mind to know it?

Psalm 106 - Name exchange

My friend Cinda highlighted the fact to me that whenever you see the word Israel in the Bible you can usually substitute your own name in its place and it will be relevant to your life and history with God. I counted over 15 mistakes Israel was guilty of and can correlate those to my own guilt and shame. But the hero in this story isn't a repented people but a loving God that is faithful even when we've been unfaithful to him repeatedly. God allowed for intercessors, Moses and Phinehas, to intervene and stand in the breech between the rebellious people and a Holy God. Moses and Phinehas are attributed to keeping Gods wrath from destroying the Israelites and for having righteousness credited. This is a foreshadow of what Christ has done for us. We are in a constant cycle of rebellion towards God, even our best efforts fall short of the standards of God. We deserve God's wrath to destroy us but Jesus steps in as our substitute to not just turn Gods wrath from us but to take it upon himself once and for all who accept this gift of salvation. He exchanged our name for His, He took our punishment on Himself and substituted His righteousness for our unrighteousness. Take some time to answer these questions about yourself asking for conviction, forgiveness, and praising Him for his grace and faithfulness to you.

Psalm 106 Questions -

1. Do you for get what God has done for you in your life? Do you keep a journal or write in your Bible or find some other way to review the history of what He has done for you.

2. Do you wait for His council or do you decide your own agenda hoping He will bless it. Do you go ahead with your action plan or do you seek His will in the situation? Do you want to resolve things right away or can you patiently endure until you know it is a direction from the Lord?

3. Do you give into your cravings? Are you patient or do you have to have it now? Do you put it on credit when you don't have the financial means? What do you do in access? Eat, flirt, drink, shop or stay up too late?

4. Do you put God to the test? Do you not obey Him unless He gives you some sort of sign? Do you want Him to answer your prayers or do you want to obey His will?

5. Are you jealous of your fellow christians who seem to be in God's favor? Do you question the leaders God has put you under and undermine their authority? Do you think you have a right to complain about your pastor or leaders to others?

6. Do you make your own idols? Do you determine what is most important in your life or do you follow God's will and instruction in the Bible for your life? Have you used your own standards to determine that career is more important than family or that kids are more important than your marriage, or that your physical health is more important than your spiritual health?

7. Do you forget who God is? What His character is like? Do you spend time in His word to get to know Him better? Do you remember that it is He that saved you, not your works?

8. Are you content with what He has given you? Do you despise the pleasant land you live in? Are you sick of your furnishings, long for a home improvement remodel, do you complain about the government and your nation. Do you wish you lived in that city or were able to send your kids to that school and wish you had that other job? Do you want to move away from it all or continually wish it was something better or more?

9. Do you believe his promises? Do you know his promises and stand on them for your life? Do you live your life knowing He will meet every need or do you cautiously and slowly move forward hoping He will and setting up safety nets in your life in case He doesn't pull through for you in the way you want Him to?

10. Do you complain? Does every good thing have a down side? Do you start a conversation with a friend or spouse with the bad things that happened in the day or the good things? Are you only able to see the silver lining or can you be thankful for the rain cloud as well?

11. Do you obey? Do you trust God? You won't obey Him if you don't trust Him and you will never learn to trust Him if you don't just start obeying. Do you think you have to have a feeling or sign or confirming circumstance to obey Him? Are you familiar with his commandments? Have you asked God what He wants you specifically to do with the gray areas of moral conduct?

12. Have you yoked yourself to the ways of this world and made sacrifices of time, money and resources to participate in them? Is your standards of beauty, health, parenting, marriage, and even faith tied to what the world says or the Word of God says?

13. Do you rebel against the Spirit of God? When your Holy Spirit guides or convicts do you resist?

14. Do you sacrifice your kids happiness, health, education, emotional security, or well-being to the worlds standards of grades, athleticism or level of performance? Or do we sacrifice their well-being for our own conveniences and interests?

15. What will you do with your life to make sure that verse 43 will not have your name in it and describe your life?

Psalm 78 - History Lesson

I was that kid who despite my mom's warning had to touch the stove to see what "hot" really was. One of my son's first words was "hot" because of my consistent warnings. There are certain things that we as humans try to impart to our children to help them in life. Cause and effect is usually learned better once it is experienced or taught from an experience versus just the warning itself. The psalmist is encouraging the current generation to tell their story and their history to the next generation so that they will learn to trust the Lord and obey his commands. They are reminded of His power and wonderful deeds so that they won't get burned by the heat of God's punishment. As I aged, my mom gave me new warnings and openly shared her personal experiences and mistakes in order that I learn from them and hoped I would not repeat. But more importantly than a list of do's and don'ts was the lesson the God forgives and redeems our mistakes. Our sins may make us failures but our failure to repent of our sins and turn to God for salvation will be our biggest mistake. One of the last words of wisdom my grandma gave me before she died was that she hadn't lived a very good life but that it was okay because God was very good and very forgiving. Are you willing to break the cycle in your life of not believing in God fully and begin trusting in Him alone for deliverance? Can you praise God for the times you've been burned because they turned you back to Him? Will you openly share your pain in order to spare someone else that pain and teach them to turn to the Lord for redemption?

Psalm 78 Questions -

1. What do you do to remember God's faithfulness and great deeds in your life? Do you journal or reminisce, or make notes in your Bible?

2. What limits your belief in God? Where else do you turn for deliverance before God?

3. In verse 34, Does is take a disaster in your life to seek God? What are you doing to seek Him and His ways?

4. After reading verse 7, what is the Lord requiring of you?

5. After reading verse 39, the next time you go outside, feel for the breeze and measure your life against it.

6. Are you content with what God has given you or do you test His love and provision by complaining for more?

7. Why did God choose David? Why did He choose you? God took David from a sheep pen to a palace. What skills has God given you to use for His glory and purposes not your own?

Psalm 30 - Gain Pain

There are all sorts of analogies to help relate the sentiment: No pain, no gain. Doctors tell us we need to be poked by needles not to get sick and that we have to push 8 pounds of human out of a little hole in order to gain children. We need to train to win the race and deny the pan of brownies to be thin. All these things require a level of faith. We are trusting our pain will have a purpose. Much of our Christian faith is this concept that suffering and pain is temporary in contrast to our promise of eternal restoration and reconciliation with a perfect God who will eradicate all pain, sorrow, and tears. We have to believe that God is faithful through all circumstances, both painful and happy, and that we are dependent on Him alone, not the circumstances He arranges in our life. Maybe a little pain is to our gain.

Psalm 30 Questions -

1. What is a recent situation you can exalt him for either lifting your spirits or lifting you out of a hard situation?

2. Is there someone you can call on God for help in healing?

3. Is there a time in your life that seemed so hopeless and horrible but with hindsight seems insignificant or distant?

4. What seems hopeless now? Will you trust God to redeem the situation for purpose and good?

5. When things are going well in our lives we feel confident and secure in God's will and favor. But when things go wrong in our eyes do we think God has turned his back on us? Do you continue to trust or do you try to take back over the controls of your life?

6. Do we really trust God to turn our rags to riches? Do we just want his riches but not the rags? Do we rely on God or his stuff? Do we only want the laughter but reject the tears?

7. What can you ask for today to turn from pain to positive? What from your past can you ask for insight to see the positive and purpose? Can you use it to point others towards the redemptive work of Christ? Is their sadness He can turn to joy for you? Is their crying He can turn to dancing for you?

8. Do you give thanks forever? What has he done in the past that you can thank him for today? How will you remember to thank him tomorrow?

Psalm 28 - Pit fall

A means to capture a target is by using pitfalls. Pits are dug along a path to a particular basic need like a home, food, or water. The best place to dig is where the path narrows or else you can put obstacles in the path to funnel them to the pit trap. Pits can also be dug and baited to lure the target in. You need to use appropriate bait and hole size with the particular target. Sharp objects like sticks or stones can be used to line the bottoms of the pit to increase chances for injury or death. Psalm 28 warns if we don't listen to God we will fall into a pit. So where are the well worn paths of your heart? Could the enemy be digging a hole near one to cause you to fall? That type of bait might he lure you with? Remember for all things trust in the Lord and listen for his help and guidance. He is your strength and protector from the pitfalls of life.

Psalm 28 Questions -

1. When you are in the pits do you go to God for help or do you try to get out yourself? Do you drag others in with you or sit in self-pity? After crying for help there is an action of faith to lift your arms up to be lifted out. Are you stepping out and reaching up in faith?

2. Are you feeling manipulated by a neighbor or friend who is two-faced? Are you trusting that God will judge her motives?

3. How do you show regard for the works of the Lord and what He's done?

4. How is God your strength? How is he your shield? Where do you need him to intervene today?

5. What does it mean to you that God saves his people and they are his inheritance?

6. What song will you sing to him in thanks today?

7. What does it mean to be an anointed one of God?

8. Do you want your heart to leap for joy? What is weighing it down? How can you trust the Lord with it?

Psalm 26 - Blame Less

It is human nature to avoid the blame and put it on someone else. We have to be taught to be responsible for our own actions yet we always find a little bit of why it is someone else's fault too. My high school Spanish teacher would give the same vocabulary tests every year. So kids with older siblings or friends would be passed down these tests that everyone would try to get their hands on. Flat out cheating, right? Or was it Senior's own fault for not changing the tests. I remember studying but then finding a friend with a test just to verify I knew the right words. Well pretty soon it was too easy to cram off an old test and not study at all. But then one day the teacher switched out the old test for a new one. You could hear the groans and see the panic sweep over the faces of over half the class. Everyone was mad at him for switching the test but wait a minute, weren't we the cheaters? We wanted to place the blame anywhere but on ourselves. So what does it mean to live a blameless life? Is living blameless the same as living perfectly? If so, I've blown it already, I blew it 5 minutes ago. Or maybe just less to blame than the girl next to me? But blame implies responsibility, who will be responsible for my own life's actions and thoughts? I don't know about you but I have gladly exchanged my blame with the blameless one, Jesus, so that I may have his earned redemption and mercy because I couldn't earn it on my own. I hope you have accepted Christ's gift of salvation, because in the end you will be the only one to blame for not putting your faith in Him.

Psalm 26 Questions -

1. Where does your trust in God waver? Fill in the blank: I know God could but I don't think He would ______.

2. Why is testing necessary? Are you afraid to ask because of what might be revealed? Why would David welcome examination from God? Are you willing to ask God to reveal any areas in your life that need to be returned to God's authority? What grade would you receive if God tested your heart and mind?

3. Where have your feet taken you today? Errands, fitness, shopping, couch, kitchen pantry, mirror, Bible, scale, towards someone, away from someone, kids activities, and/or work? How can you walk these places in God's truth?

4. How do we witness to unbelievers without consorting with them? How do we love the sinner but hate the sin? How can we refuse to sit but still make a stand for Christ?

5. We sin everyday, therefore we need forgiveness everyday. David was human like us, he got his hands dirty too and he even talks in verse 6 about needing to wash his hands in innocence. Dirty hands need washed in clean water to remove dirt. Dirty lives need to be washed clean too. Christ shed his innocent blood so our filthy lives could be washed clean so we could be presented blameless before God. Do you need to go wash your hands?

6. (v8) Where does the house of the Lord live now? Where does His glory dwell on the earth?

Psalm 20 - Wish me luck

I had a boyfriend in high school that was a baseball player. Baseball players can be very superstitious during their season. They all have their things they have to do before a game to ensure luck. And if they had a bad game it was the fault of one of their lucky charms not their athletic ability. I remember he slept with his bat, wore the same socks ever game without washing them, and had some necklace with magic powers or something ridiculous. But we all have ridiculous things we do or say before a big event in life. They are ridiculous because they hold no power. Saying good luck before a game, break a leg before a performance, or you can do it I believe in you might bolster a little confidence but all the hope in the world won't win a game, help you through that move to a new city or calm your nerves before surgery. Psalm 20 gives us an example of a battle cry that has power behind it. It calls on the Lord for His support, His strength, His success. It says that trust is not in man's capabilities and earthly things but only in the name and power of the Lord. So be it the first day of school, a presentation at work, or before a game, try calling on the Lord for his power instead of just wishing for some luck.

Psalm 20 Questions -

1. Who can you pray this psalm for today instead of wishing them luck on an upcoming event?

2. What does it mean to be given a desire of your heart? God is Holy so he can't co-exist with selfish desires. Do you think of God as a magic genie that will give you what you want if you rub him the right way and earn his favor?

3. What is success? What is your idea of success? What is God's idea of success?

4. Do you shout for joy when He makes you victorious? Is it out loud and audible to give him the glory or is it in your head so no one can decipher his glory from yours?

5. What would it mean to lift up your banner in His name? When is the last time you shared your testimony with someone? When was the last time you met someone new to share your testimony with?

6. Do we trust in man made and tangible earthly things or do we have enough faith to trust in the intangibles and in a name? What name of the Lord do you find trust and comfort in today?

7. Will you submit on your knees and depend on Him before He brings you to your knees? Will you give him the controls before you head into a tailspin and loose control?

Psalm 17 - Oink

So just call me piggy, and not because my nose scrunches in pictures but because I am a lot like a pig in my spiritual walk. Pigs are an interesting farm animal because they can turn from domesticated to feral within a matter of months being introduced into the wild. No other tame animal has such a transformation once it is out of the boundaries and care of the farmer. They will get hairy, grow tusks and get aggressive. Pigs are scavengers by nature, adapt well to their environment, and can survive on their own but usually in a destructive and dangerous manner. Verse 14 says that God stills the hunger of those He cherishes, that sons have plenty and that they are able to store up wealth for their children. A satisfied pig stays in his pen and contently wallows in the mud and generations of that pig can enjoy the same benefits. But when we don't seek to get fed from the Lord and receive satisfaction for all our needs from him we start to act like discontent pigs. We break down our fences, leave the fold of protection and begin to root in the wild for things that will only keep us alive but never thrive. Life is never as peaceful, we will always be searching for the next meal and competing with our fellow wild swine for the same limited resources. When those resources are used up it only pushes us deeper into the wild to search for more. We like the pigs will start to get a little more aggressive and a little more bristly. Perhaps we even start to grow tusks to defend ourselves from others or to fight for more. I got a little feral today, I didn't go to the Farmer/God for my first meal and throughout the day I felt myself getting a little bristly. Even though my walk looked nothing like the first 5 verses I was able to claim verse 6. When I call, He answers. He shows his love and saves me when I take refuge in him. Only God can offer you the satisfactions of life. Are you going to the farmer for your needs or have you escaped the pen? Will you return your heart time him now?
Psalm 17 Questions-
1. Are your prayers righteous or are they motivated with with self interest?
2. Is your moral living an effort to obligate God to you? Do you think you earn His favor by your efforts?
3. Have you ever been in a quarrel? There are 3 sides to every story. Yours, theirs and the truth. God's eyes see what is right and will handle justice. Do you ask God to see His side of the story or do you ask Him to see yours? Will you trust your quarrel to the Righteous Judge?
4. Fill in the blank or rewrite verse 6 in your own words. Show me your love, save me from ________. I take refuge from my enemies in you.
5. Examine verse 14. What does it mean to be a man of this world whose reward is in this life? Why do we need saving from such men, why do they attack?
6. God promises abundance that spills over into our children if we are fed by the Lord for our needs. Therefore if you want to invest in your children's future teach them to be satisfied in the Lord.

Psalm 9 - What is in a name?

Hello my name is Jesse. My birth certificate reveals my legal name is Jessalynn but I only hear that when I am in trouble or from a telemarketer. My dad calls me Princess. My mom nicknamed me Messy Jessy. Married I am called Baby, Toots, and My Woman. I am called Mom by my two kids and sometimes it is a shrill whiney moooommmmmaaaa when someone is tired. I have lots of names that different people use that are associated with my different roles. You can discern my dad cherishes me, my lack of cleanliness frustrated my mom and that my husband and I are playful. There are a lot of Jesse's out there and if you don't have a relationship with me or spend time with me, my name just becomes identification. Throughout scriptures God is given many names to try to reveal the many facets to his character. Verse 10 says that those who know your name can trust you. There is power in his name, it is a name above all other names, it can be called on and praised. Do you seek the Lord and to know his many names and how they can deepen your relationship with Him? Have you been journalling a list of God's names and what they mean to you?

Psalm 9 Questions -

1. What part of your heart is broken and not able to praise Him? Do you feel that there is an injustice in your life or an area God has forgotten?

2. Who have you shared his wonders with today? Review your conversations with people, your kids, husband, family, clerk at the store, bank teller and friends, do you point people to Jesus or yourself?

3. Is your life song singing God's praises or your own, your families, or your churches?

4. Do you really trust God as your judge or do you have to feel appreciated for all you do? Do you truly want God to be recognized and praised or do you want a piece of the glory?

5. How will you stand before God's throne of judgement? Are you still working on your righteousness or have you exchanged yours for Christ's? Consider accepting Christ's free gift of salvation today. If you have, thank Him.

6. What troubles to you face? What is opposing you? What would it mean for that situation to seek refuge in God?

7. Why is it important to know the names of God? What does it mean not to be forsaken by the Lord? What does it mean to seek Him?

8. What is your prayer's motive? Is it to relieve our pain and get back to an easy life or is it to have a testimony of God's glory and transformation in our life?

9. How has our nation forgotten God? How can you remind them?

10. God does not forget the needy. Do we? How can you meet a need for someone today? Pray for eyes to see the opportunity then give Him the glory.

11. (V20) Should we pray for disaster? Why or why not?