Tag Archives: Psalms

Which One Are You?

Closeup of a flock of sheep. Photo by Sam Carter on Unsplash.
Photo by Sam Carter on Unsplash.

Bible Passages

Read Psalm 23.

Read John 10:1-15.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:11 (ESV)

Devotion

We are taught, as citizens of this world, to be sheep. Sheep are like mindless drones. They travel together. They eat together. They dress alike. They talk alike. They have the same haircuts. They hang out together. They think alike. They blend in. They don’t stand out.

Black sheep, however, do. In a flock of sheep, it’s easy to pick out the black ones. Being the black sheep of the family is not considered to be a good thing. They dress differently. They act differently. They talk differently. They cut their hair differently. They don’t hang out with the other sheep often because the flock has shunned them. They do stand out.

The world wants us to blend in with the rest of the flock. Television and social media dictate how we should dress, speak, act, and think. We are expected to do “the expected.” Black sheep are expected to reform and conform. When they do, they are praised and rewarded, and accepted back into the worldly flock as a card-carrying, upstanding member of society.

As Christians, Jesus has also called us to be sheep. He wants us in His flock, which is full of black sheep. We care less and less about the worldly flock’s values. We dress differently. We act differently. We talk differently. We don’t follow the latest trends in fashion or hairstyles. We don’t hang out with the others, but not because we are rejected by society. We reject the rules and standards society tries to force upon us when those rules don’t align with God’s will. We stand out.

We follow Jesus. We act according to His teachings, though the world would have us fill our hearts with haughtiness, disdain, and hatred. We speak words of praise and thanksgiving, though the world would have us spew criticism, dissent, and profanity. We embrace the rules and standards God has given us. We know they are fair, just, and true. We follow by choice.

We follow because we know Jesus and Jesus knows us. We follow because Jesus, the Good Shepherd, chose us despite our weaknesses and flaws. He knows our names. He loves us. He wants to be with us in a close relationship. He even died for us! He calls to us. The longer we follow Jesus, and the closer we are with Him, the happier we are. How can we not follow Him?

Prayer Focus

Black sheep

Prayer

Lord, thank You for loving us, caring for us, and calling us to You. Every hour of every day, we praise and worship You. We strive to have a closer relationship with You because You love us so dearly and we love You. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen.

Final Thought

Black Or White?

Listen!

Man listening. Photo by larry-george-ii on unsplash.
Photo by larry-george-ii on unsplash.

Bible Passages

For God speaks again and again,though people do not recognize it.

Job 33:14-18

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalms 46:10

If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name,” says the Lord of hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

Malachi 2:2

But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster

Proverbs 1:33

Devotion

How often in a day do you find yourself bored? In the “old days,” you might have counted ceiling tiles, looked for dirty clothes under the bed, examined the shoes of the lady ahead of you in line, or pulled lint out of your navel. Today, you play games or watch videos on your phone.

News flash! That down time is on purpose, a gift from God. It’s a time to reflect. Count your blessings. Pray for guidance. Recite Bible verses. Sing songs of praise and worship. Spend time with God. Listen.

If you listen with your heart, God speaks to you non-stop. Put down your phone and listen. Turn off the television and listen. While your babies are sleeping, listen. It’s very important to learn to listen to God’s voice. It’s so important to God that “the word ‘listen’ appears 278 times throughout the books of the Bible.”[ConnectUS] Practice listening. You might not hear His voice the first few times you try, so keep at it. The world is shouting at you. Ignore it. Find the whisper. It’s a gentle, quiet voice filled with love and hope and peace. That’s the one you should hear. Focus on it. Listen.

Notice I said, “Listen.” It means you don’t just hear something. You strain for meaning. You lean into it. You take action. Hearing is passive, requiring nothing of you. Listening is participating.

When you ask God for help or guidance, you have to give Him time to respond. Don’t just say a prayer, jump up, and run back to your day. Hang out with God. Spend some time listening for His voice. Before long, you’ll find it’s easier and easier to hear what He is saying. Doing what He commands will bring you more and greater joy and peace and happiness. Therefore, just listen.

Prayer Focus

Listen to the Master

Prayer

Lord, help me open up my ears so that I may hear Your sweet, gentle voice. Amen.

Final Thought

Hey! God is talking to you.

Angels Among Us

Photo by Christophe Van der waals on Unsplash

Bible Passages

Read Psalm 91.

20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word!

21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will.

Psalms 103:20-21 (NASB1995)

Devotion

Late one very dark night, as I was driving in the well-lit parking lot, headed home, the brakes went out. Mine was the only car around. I was the only person around. “Okay,” I thought, “I’ll see what’s going on. Maybe I can fix it.” I prayed that God had provided me with the knowledge and tools I needed to figure out how to fix this. With a deep sigh, I opened the hood and started trying to locate the problem.

Sure enough, I located the problem fairly quickly. I happened to have some cardboard, large enough to lay down under the car. I pumped the brakes and checked the cardboard. By the size of the puddle on the cardboard, the leak was directly above it, near the master cylinder. The master was dry, so it had to be in the hoses. As I looked at the hoses, I found a split had formed. If I could find some tape to wrap it, I could at least get it to the parts store for a replacement hose. I looked high and low. There was no kind of tape to be found. No duct tape. No electrical tape. Not even Scotch tape!

About that time, I saw someone walking toward me. It was a man wearing a backpack. At a respectful distance, he asked if I needed help. I was not afraid of him, even though there were so many reasons I should have been. I said a quick prayer of thanks, and explained my situation to him.

Still at a respectful distance, he began to rummage through his backpack, telling me he would see what he had that might work. A couple of minutes later, he pulled something out, but I couldn’t see what it was. He did look very embarrassed, though.

He told me he was homeless. A local church had recently handed out bags of things like toiletries, towels, and socks. God bless that local church. Among the items in that bag were a few condoms. He ripped it open, wrapped up the leaky hose, and sent me on my way!

He refused a ride. It was too late to buy him a meal, and everything was closed. He didn’t even take the cash I had on hand, a whopping $10. He said he didn’t need anything, and that he’d be fine. As I drove away, I took one last look back, trying to see him walk away. He was nowhere to be seen. He literally disappeared into the darkness in less than a minute! In that confirming moment, I knew he was really one of my guardian angels.

Every time I think about that night, I give thanks to God for sending me that angel. Although it was a few years ago, I know I’ll see him again in the next realm, where I can say a proper thank you and let him know how much I appreciated his help.

Prayer Focus

Homeless angels.

Prayer

Beloved Heavenly Father, in your perfect timing, thank you for always providing exactly what and who I need. Amen.

Final Thought

Angels show up when we need them.

Where To Start

Open Bible closeup.

Bible Passages

Constantly remind the people about these laws, and you yourself must think about them every day and every night so that you will be sure to obey all of them. For only then will you succeed.

Joshua 1:8 (TLB)

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalms 119:105 (NLV)

The man who reads this Book and listens to it being read and obeys what it says will be happy. For all these things will happen soon.

Revelation 1:3 (NLV)

Devotion

Lots of people are hesitant to start reading the Bible, for a variety of reasons. Some just don’t know where to start. Others are put off by the fancy, Shakespeare-like wording or all the begats and references to people and places that don’t seem relevant today. If you want to read the Bible, there are a lot of options you may not know about, designed for regular people like you and me who just need a little help.

There are many translations which use more modern language than the traditional King James Version. You might try the Living Bible (TLB), the New Life Version (NLV) or the Modern English Version (MEV). These are easier to read, and don’t contain ‘thou’ or ‘knowest’ or ‘doeth’ words. They still contain a lot of people and places. You can skip over those for now, when it gets too dry. One day those people and places will become more important. Until then, just skim them and move on. Pick the version you think will work best for you.

If you like, you could start at the beginning with the book of Genesis and work your way to the last book, Revelation. Another approach is to pick an easier book such as Psalms or Proverbs or one of the Gospels. Ask your pastor for advice. Nobody, not even God, expects you to understand everything you read, especially if it’s your first time through.

God knows that some passages are hard to read. He built in many layers of depth and richness of meaning. The more you study and discuss a passage, the better you will be able to grasp what God is saying. You will begin to see the deeper meanings. It sometimes brings up more questions than answers. That’s okay. It’s how the Bible is designed, so that it never gets boring or repetitive to read the same passage over and over. You’re supposed to ask questions. You’re supposed to dig deeper.

When you run into something you don’t understand, your pastor or priest is a great person to ask about it. After all, pastors are very knowledgeable on the subject. If you don’t belong to a church, call or visit one nearby. A good pastor will be happy to help you, even if you’re not a member of their flock. Your pastor might not know all the answers to your questions. Discussing the Bible with someone allows you to ask follow-on questions in real time, as they occur to you.

Another great source is the library or bookstore. Whatever the passage, someone has written something about it to help others wrap their heads around it. Many people have written explanations of specific parts of the Bible. Some books dive deep into one particular book or chapter. Some are written specifically to help us read the whole Bible.

Go online. There are lots of sites devoted to Biblical topics, some more formal than others. Some sites are set up in classic printed Bible format, which provide footnotes to the passages as you get to them. Others are less formal, and provide the passage couched in a paragraph or two of the writer’s perspective.

Watch movies about the Bible. I find myself inspired to read for myself about what was shown in a movie. Some movies are more biblically accurate than others. It’s fun (for me, at least) to fact-check those movies.

As you get more involved, you might want to look for resources that explain the origins of the passage. The term ‘lost in translation’ refers to the difficulty of picking words in the new language that carry the same meaning. For instance, it would be hard to translate an iceberg into a language used by people that only know about deserts. Some books even go into the cultural settings, giving you the perspective of the average person of that time and place.

Follow journeys on a map. Some Bibles include maps, and make it easy to find the places of that era. It gives you an idea of distance, direction, and terrain.

There are so many way to approach reading the Bible, and so many fellow travellers eager to help you find your own approach. Tell God, out loud, that you need help with it. He will put the right people and resources for you into your life.

Prayer Focus

Someone struggling to read the Bible.

Prayer

All-knowing Father, who created the heavens and the Earth, who breathed life into me, and who provided a guidebook for me, give me the tools and people I need so I can study Your words. Lead me to follow the path You want me to take. Help me use the Bible, so I will be prepared for whatever You have in store for me, and know how You want me to act in any situation. You are my God, and I want to do what pleases You. Amen.

Final Thought

Knowledge is power. Righteous knowledge is righteous power.

The Air We Breathe

Bible Passages

Read Psalm 91.

The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.

Psalm 24:1 (NASB1995)

Devotion

I pray Psalm 91 every day. It is a prayer for God’s protection. I pray it for my house, my car, my friends and family, and many other things. One day while praying this prayer, I got a quick glimpse in my mind’s eye, a vision. As I prayed, I watched as a glowing blue layer of protection and love encircled the house, nestling into the foundation and securing it, transforming it from a house into a home protected by God’s might and love. It was personal and magical. I felt a warm comfort and peace.

Since then, I started looking for something that has that same kind of blue, multifaceted and iridescent, sort of like a rainbow of blues, from cyan and sky blue to royal and navy blue. One day, I realized I had seen that same rainbow of blue color in pictures of Earth from space. The beautiful blue layer of gases around our planet is very similar to the blue layer of protection I saw around my house! Yes, I immediately grasped the implication. Our planet has a layer of protection from God. I had simply tapped into His protective atmosphere by praying Psalm 91 and directing it toward my house.

When God created this world, He put down a layer of protection over it. We call it the atmosphere. It keeps us safe from harmful rays from the sun. It provides us the exact amount of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases that we need, perfectly balanced by the global ecosystem. It hosts the winds and the rains, in their many forms.

I began to notice many of the televangelist shows use some of those very same blues to light their stages. Is it a coincidence? This can’t be random. Is there someone on their crew or staff who has seen this beautiful blue blanket, and understands the power in these colors? Maybe one day someone will talk about it on their show, but to me it seems like they, too, are trying to recreate the color of God’s blessing.

It’s popular among the faith community to pray Psalm 91 these days. It feels a bit like I’m following a fad. I know I’m not, and I hope it is not just a fad. My hope is that you begin to pray and study this passage regularly. Due to its current popularity, it is easy to find books and articles that teach you how to pray this powerful Bible passage. Memorize it if you can. It’s a little long, with 16 verses, but every word is charged with meaning and power. Every tough situation you face is covered by at least one verse. The last few verses sing of victory over hardship.

When you are under attack, this is a mighty sword. If you pray Psalm 91, you might even get a glimpse of the Word at work, as I did. Maybe you, too, can see the blue blanket of protection as it wraps itself around you and your home. Even if you don’t, you can rest assured it’s there, shielding you from the woes of this world. All you have to do is pray, and breathe in God’s protection, the air, which He provided for us.

Prayer Focus

Those in need of protection.

Prayer

Almighty God, Savior of the world, our Light in the darkness, protect me from the evils of the world. Keep me safe in Your loving arms. Grant me Your peace in all things. Guide my feet along Your path. Lead me into Your righteousness. Amen.

Final Thought

God’s protection and love are even in the air we breathe.

Tough Week

Man having a Tough Week - Image by Freepix.

Bible Passages

Read Psalms 69:29-36.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (NASB1995)

Devotion

According to tradition and many scholars, here’s Jesus’ week in a nutshell.

Holy Monday is the day on which Jesus cleansed the temple, entertained local children, and cursed a fig tree (Matthew 21:12–22).

On Tuesday, he traveled to Bethany (around 6 miles or 10 kilometers) and gave a sermon (The Olivet Discourse) about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age. It is also believed by many to be the day Judas betrayed him to the Sanhedrin.

On Wednesday, there’s no mention of his activities, so it is believed he rested. Up to this time, he’d had a rough few weeks. He probably really needed to rest after the last exhausting 40+ days. He also knew his agenda for the rest of the week, and that the next few days would be the hardest days he would ever face. I agree with the scholars who think he rested on Wednesday.

On Thursday (Maundy Thursday), he washed the feet of the disciples before supper, then spent the evening with them, hanging out and celebrating the Passover. Late in the evening, he took some disciples to an olive plantation. There, Judas gave him the infamous kiss of death (the likely origin of that term, by the way). The Sanhedrin arrested him and took him to the house of High Priest Caiaphas.

On Friday (Good Friday), no time was wasted. He was put on trial, convicted, sentenced to death, scourged, crucified, and buried, and the tomb was sealed shut. This all happened in a single day.

On Saturday, he got busy with the task of conquering hell and death.

On Sunday (Easter or Resurrection Sunday), he got back up (from being dead) and visited with his followers over the next few days.

Whew! What a tough week!

Why did he do all that? He is God. He could have dodged the whole ball of wax if he wanted. Scripture tells us why. He loves us. He wanted us to know, by His example, how to live life. He is also our stand-in on Judgment Day. Now, when we face judgment, God will let us into heaven because of the sacrifice Jesus made for us out of love. All we have to do is accept Him as our Lord and Savior.

Aren’t you glad you belong to Him?!

Prayer Focus

Believers

Prayer

Blessed Savior, thank you for loving us enough to live among us on Earth, showing us how you want us to live, and dying for us, taking our sins upon yourself. Amen.

Final Thought

Jesus really loves me!

Thank God First

Bible Passages

Read Luke 17:11-19.

“I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.” – Psalm 9:1 (NASB1995)

Devotion

One of the first things we learn to say is, “Thank you.” One of the first things we forget to say is, “Thank you.” A simple two-word phrase, it goes a long way. Yet, we go about our day and forget to give thanks to the people whose thoughtful, little kindnesses make a difference in our day: the helpful store clerk, the smiling toll booth guard, the one who holds the door, or the random but needed hug, all deserve one word of encouragement and appreciation, “Thanks.”

Family is usually second among unthanked victims. Mom gets up early to make breakfast. Dad takes time to help with our homework. On that rare occasion when our siblings actually share their toys, their ice cream, or their secrets, we neglect to thank them.

The first victim is God. We don’t thank Him for allowing us to wake up today, for last night’s rest, the new day before us. We don’t sing His praises as we prepare for our day. We don’t thank Him for going out into the world with us. However, if we don’t start our day with God, we set ourselves up for something less than everything He wants for us for that day.

We need to start and end each day right, with praise and thanks to God. Try starting and ending your day with the Lord’s prayer, a joyful Psalm, a devotion like The Upper Room, or a Bible chapter. Smart devices have apps like YouVersion, in which you can request a specific or random Bible passage. Whatever you do to start your day with God, He will approve.

As His servants, talk to God first each morning. “Good morning, Lord. How may I serve You today? How can I be a blessing to someone today?” Then, listen. He might take a few minutes, a few hours, days. He does things on His schedule, not ours. Keep asking during the day. He will guide your heart. Small things will only be a brief tug. “Help that lady carry all that stuff.” “Wait here a minute.” “Drive home by the back roads.” Those things come quickly and are easy when you listen. Those are the small ways we honor God, not always knowing why or the result.

The big things, for me at least, often take more than one nudge. Sometimes, He has to work to get my attention. In times like that, He allows situations that seem dire at first glance. When I pray about it, He lets me know He wants my attention. When I finally hear Him, He opens the door He wants me to take. As I step through, I realize I am traveling the path He set for me. Things start turning around. The dire situation becomes an opportunity to glorify God. When I take His path, everything falls into place again. It doesn’t always happen immediately, but it does always happen.

That’s the most important time to thank the Lord, just as with the ten lepers. When He shows us His love or the next step in our journey, we need to praise Him, thank Him, and go out of our way to make sure what we do glorifies God in as many ways as we can. Let everyone know your success comes from God. Sing his praises with every breath. When we do, the joy is overwhelming and contagious!

Then, at the end of the day, make sure He is the last thing on your mind before you go to sleep. Give Him your concerns, thank Him for a great day and the blessings and challenges, and for granting the rest you need. When you do this, you will rest completely and worry-free. It might take some practice, as it has with me, and some nights will be harder to do this than others.

That’s okay with God. He knows we’re not perfect but He loves us anyway, and wraps us in His perfect love, then sets His angels to watch over us. As the saying goes, “Give it to God and go to sleep.”

Prayer Focus

Those who have forgotten to thank God, even in small things.

Prayer

Lord God our Father Almighty, thank You for nurturing us, guiding us, and helping us grow into the people You want us to be. Help us to remember to thank You in good times, in bad times, and in the in-between times. Remind us to give You the glory You deserve. Remind us to put your first and last in all things. Amen.

Final Thought

Start and end your day with God.