by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalm 68-69
These two psalms are longer than many and they reflect very different moods. Psalm 68 extols the greatness of God as He “rides upon the earth.” There is reflection of His appearance to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. The earth quaked and the heavens dropped rain at the presence of God.
“The chariots of God are myriads – thousands upon thousands.” (68:17) Such majesty! Such grandeur and glory! God is being extolled as the God of all the earth!
Ephesians 4 quotes this psalm. In speaking of the ministry gifts which God will bring to the earth, it is written:
“You have ascended on high,
You have led captivity captive,
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious,
That the Lord might dwell there.”(68:18)
David is prophesying again, as he often does.
Then the mood changes in Psalm 69, as David has an urgent plea for help in trouble. Actually, as we read this, it is clear that this too is prophetic. This time, many references to the crucifixion of Jesus come up, as they have in other psalms.
“Zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who have reproached You have fallen on me.” (69:9) (John 2:17)
“They also gave Me gall for My food, and for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink.” (69:21) (Matthew 27:34)
Then the psalm even mentions Judas when it says,
“Let their dwelling place be desolate; let no one live in their tents.” (69:25) (Acts 1:20)
So the sorrowfulness is really referring to the coming work of Jesus – as He pays the price for us. That’s why the psalm ends in such an upbeat tone. Israel – and the earth itself, will praise God. His descendants shall inherit the advantage bought by God, and those who “love His name,” shall dwell in it.
As you read these psalms, think in terms of prophecy. You may discover other lines in which the future is being projected on the screen.
Romans 8: 1-17
Flesh versus spirit. That’s one of our major challenges as we live our lives for Christ.
When God created man, He created us in three parts: spirit, soul, and body. The spirit died when man first sinned, but came back to life through Jesus Christ – thus the born again experience. The soul is the part of man which consists of the mind, the will, and the emotions – the seat of personality. The spirit is the part of man which is aligned with God and hears from Him.
So this is the problem. Your soul and mine, before we were born again, was mostly self-centered. Me, me, me! If it feels good, do it!
So along comes the Spirit. After we are born again, our spirits come alive and are Christ-centered. This part of us wants to live for God and for His glory. Our spirits want to do what is right and be led by God.
It’s like there are two different sources of strength within us. If we let our souls go unchecked, our flesh rules. If we live by the spirit, we are in line with God’s desires for us. He is ordering our steps, bringing us direction and favor. (Plus grace to live our best lives).
If we keep these concepts in mind as we read Romans 8, it’s easier to understand.
“To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (V. 6-7)
“We did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but we have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.'” (V. 15)
To be led by the Spirit is the healthiest thing we can do – not only for ourselves, but also for all those around us. “Abba, Father” literally means “Daddy, God.” When we are in agreement His Spirit, we are in agreement with all that is good – for us and to us.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalms 63-67
This group of psalms starts with David in the wilderness of Judah, thirsting for God in a dry and weary land. He feels dry spiritually as well as naturally.
Have you ever been there? I’m sure that you have, just as I have. Maybe some jolting things have happened in your life and you feel that God is far away from you. But He isn’t.
David knows the secret. Just as we have said before, he begins to praise his God. “Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; and I will lift up my hands in Your Name.”(63:3-4)
This moves into the next psalm, which once again speaks of God’s goodness in the midst of oppression. He is the Tower of strength for all who call upon Him.
Finally we see nothing but praise coming from David. He calls upon people to shout and praise exuberantly the One who is the answer for all things. He is the “confidence of the ends of the earth and of the far-off seas.”(65:5).
“Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” (67:5-7)
Exuberant praise to Almighty God will change your focus and your attitude. As you praise Him, as David does, your heart will begin to swell with confidence and strength. You will know that your God is for you also.
Romans 6-7
Now we see the answer to “sloppy grace.” Paul continues in his discussion of the law versus grace. Just as Christ died and was resurrected to a new life, so are we when we give our lives to Him. In fact, water baptism, in which we are submerged under water and then lifted up to new life is symbolic of our own death to sin and rebirth to righteousness.
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(6:23)
In chapter 7, Paul talks about our transfer from the law to righteous living by this new birth. Now we are married to Jesus and not the law. The law died, and righteousness was born into the earth by the sacrifice of Jesus.
The law makes us want to do the evil that is forbidden. Our flesh wants to do the very thing which we shouldn’t. (I remember as a child attending a puppet show when the puppet master would say, “Don’t say the word ‘snow.'” Of course, every child present would shout, “snow!!!” That’s the idea here).
So as we are presented with the law, it is impossible to keep it. The new birth, however, causes us to walk with Jesus, empowered by His grace to live free from that sin.
Without that grace, we are wretched people, as Paul says. Our flesh does what our mind doesn’t want to do. But we do have that grace. We have the ability to do what He wants us to do.
If these things seem hard for you to understand, you are in good company. Peter himself said that Paul’s writings are “hard to understand.”(II Peter 3:16).
Read these chapters over again and meditate on these verses. They will bring great freedom and joy when understood properly. Our gift of righteousness is indeed the most tremendous gift imaginable. Free from the law and free from sin. That’s the idea!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalms 60-62
As we approach Psalm 60, we can see just how intricate is David’s relationship with God. Every facet of his life is interwoven with his faith.
This psalm starts out sounding dire and full of fear. Yet we know that this psalm was written when David and his men were fighting Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah. Surely these were tough times; great armies were against them.
Notice the end of the psalm, however. Good old David knows he can count on God.
“Through our God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down the enemy.”(60:12)
Then what rejoicing we see in Psalm 61! “You have been a shelter for me; a strong tower from the enemy.”(61:3) He is the Rock that is higher than David – or you – or me.
Which leads us to the concept in Psalm 62.
“Surely men of low degree are a vapor,
Men of high degree are a lie;
If they are weighed on the scales,
They are altogether lighter than vapor….Power belongs to God!”(62:9)
Men are insignificant compared to God, yet His mercy is always toward them. They – and we – can count on His goodness and faithfulness toward us.
Romans 5
The mystery of Christ is still being elaborated.
We are justified by faith in Jesus and His sacrifice for us personally. We talked about that in the last chapter. Now we learn that we walk out our whole lives (we stand in His grace), through faith also.
Through one man, Adam, sin entered the world and as its result, death. All mankind suffered from this because of the original sin. Now One Man, Jesus, took the sin of man to the cross, paying the price for all. “For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.”(V. 15).
So grace is extended as a gift to all who will believe in Jesus. All who accept the free gift of righteousness will accept God’s grace.
So what is grace exactly? It’s sometimes called “God’s unmerited favor.” Yet it’s more than that. God’s grace might be described as His power toward us to change and become the people He created us to be. On the other hand, His grace might also be described as God’s favor on us right now – just as we are.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “lovingkindness” was the most significant word used to describe God. In the New Testament, the word “grace” is the most significant. And the two are related. The word means three different things: God’s love, his strength, and His steadfastness, or faithfulness.
Think about this. God’s love is being faithfully poured out upon us at full strength. His strength, His love, and His faithfulness all combined.
If we can ever get this, we will never be the same. If those around us ever get it, the world will be different also.
I hope we get this!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalm 57-59
What did David do when he was in trouble? He grabbed his lyre and began to sing. He created songs to God right out of his heart. Sometimes they were praise songs exclusively; sometimes they were songs which poured out his fear or anxiety. Yet every song acknowledged God as his deliverer and provider.
When we read Psalms 57 and 59, they are more meaningful if we consider when they were written. These psalms were written during the time when David was hiding from king Saul. David had already been anointed as the next king, but Saul’s jealous rages had him hunting David to kill him. For eight years, his pursuit was relentless.
When you read Psalm 57 knowing about David’s dilemma, you can understand him better. At this time, the young man was in a cave, hiding. What does he do? He recognizes God’s goodness and his ability.
“I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.” (57:2) I have meditated on this verse many times when I needed to see God’s hand in a mighty way. There’s such a peace when we realize that God is working on our behalf.
In Psalm 59, in the same situation, David is surrounded by Saul’s vicious men. Yet David is steadfast: “For God is my stronghold, my God in His lovingkindness will meet me.”(59:10)
The strength David displays is directly tied to his trust in the Lord. Because of that trust, he knows that anything he faces will come out in victory.
Romans 4
Today, one of the most controversial subjects within the ranks of believers is the subject of grace. It was also one of the most controversial during Paul’s time. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that there is error on both sides of the argument.
Romans 4 introduces the crux of the matter. When was Abraham “reckoned as righteous” before God? When he “believed God,” which came before his circumcision. So it wasn’t the law that made Abraham righteous, but his faith.
If Abraham had been justified by his works, then his wage of “righteousness” would be considered his due. Yet God doesn’t owe any of us anything. He freely has given the gift of righteousness – first to Abraham and later to the believers through Jesus.
Now this is the problem which comes up. Sometimes people think that if we are saved by grace then we can live lives of sin and still receive the grace. That’s missing the mark. When we receive Jesus and are born again, our hearts want to live the best life. We want to walk with Him and be like Him – a sinless One. So if we think that sin is “o.k.,” we need to do some heart checking for sure.
On the other extreme is theology which has a long list of rules and regulations, comprising the only way to please God. When such legalism prevails, people are burdened under the law and they don’t have the freedom to walk with the Lord fully. They are always checking their status, afraid to approach Him.
The true liberty God has designed has built-in checks and balances. The major principle is to be in love with Jesus, walking with Him every day. When we spend time with Him and receive his love for us, we become more and more like the Lord. Sin drops off – sometimes because we don’t want it anymore and sometimes because we see error which displeases Him and us. Our desire is to be like Him.
“The more we see Him, the more we love Him” is a line from a current worship song, and it’s so true. As we receive that grace which comes from our Father, we receive His love in an unprecedented way.
Verses 16-21 are life changing verses, if we allow ourselves to “get” what they say. Abraham had received a promise of a child – and waited 25 years before it came to pass. A year before Isaac was born, angels came to Abraham and told him one more time that the child was coming. By this time, Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah was 90, so having a child was impossible.
“Without becoming weak in faith, he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was also able to perform.”(V. 19-21).
He had God-like faith. God, who created the universe out of nothing, could create a baby supernaturally for Abraham, if He said he would. The way God does it that is He “calls into being that which does not exist.” He had told Abraham that he had made Him a father of many nations. His Word was good. That Word spoken by God would create what he said.
So how’s your faith? Check it out. If God told you that He would do something impossible for you, would you believe it? It’s important to answer that question.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalm 54-56
How do you handle stress? Put your trust in God. That’s the only sure way to face the giants in your life.
David was a master at this. When we are reading psalms every day, we can’t help but realize that this man had more than the ordinary share of troubles. Yet he was God’s man of the hour; the apple of His eye. So what’s the matter with all of those people who were chasing him around? They were being led by the devil and didn’t even know it.
Every life has turmoil from time to time – some more than others. David had lots because of his position as God’s man. There were many who were jealous of him and many others who were being used by the devil to attack God’s point man.
Yet David had a secret. He truly trusted in God, and knew that his God would protect and deliver him in every situation. That’s the attitude we all need to gain in order to have the productive life we desire.
“In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”(56:11)
So where is your battle? Is there someone at work or at school who seems to be opposed to all that you do? Are your children or spouse experiencing animosity from those around them? Put your trust in God.
When we do things God’s way – trusting in Him and being obedient to His leading, we will see His hand order our steps. He will deal with others on our behalf.
Romans 3
The early chapters of Romans are truly significant as they introduce the gospel – not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles.
You can imagine how hard it is for the Jews to understand these new ideas which seem to be so contrary to all that they have known. They have been taught all of their lives that the law was the way to have a relationship with God, and now they are being told something else.
A new day has dawned, and it takes a heart ready to let go of tradition in order to truly follow God. Only the leading of the Holy Spirit can bring these faithful Jews to the true knowledge of what God is doing in this day.
Paul is attempting to explain that the law was good, but no one was made righteous by the law. Righteousness came as a result of the Messiah paying the sin debt and extending that gift to those who would believe in Him.
In fact, he goes on to say, no one is righteous on their own. There is no one who can claim they are just a good person without Jesus. (That’s why other religions can never suffice for a relationship with God).
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” (V. 23-24)
All have sinned, but all can be saved if they believe in Jesus and accept His sacrifice for themselves. It may be hard to understand, but it’s true. Whether your sin seems great or small in the eyes of man, God sees it the same. Man is in a fallen state without the salvation experience provided by Jesus. But with Jesus, all men can be saved.
That’s why it’s the gospel. Gospel means “good news,” and it’s indeed good news.
I hope that you have accepted Him as your Savior. If not, you can do it right now. If you have accepted Him, let your mind ponder these things as you go about your day. God’s plan is bigger than any of us have grasped. There is always more to learn; more to understand. Let Him teach you.
