Loving Jesus Style

Scripture: Psalm 9:7-10 (NIV) 7  The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 8  He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity, 9  The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10  Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord , have never forsaken those who seek you.   Devotion:             Today we look at another psalm attributed to David. It does not fit in with any one genre of psalm. In fact, psalms nine and ten may have originally been one psalm. Together they form an acrostic poem with every other line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The psalm has two basic themes. The first twelve verses are a hymn of thanksgiving, and the remainder is a prayer for deliverance from suffering.               Verse seven through ten are all about the greatness of the Lord. They indicate that God is righteous and trustworthy. He always delivers His people in

  Scripture: Psalm 8 (ESV) 1  O Lord , our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!        You have set your glory above the heavens. 2          Out of the mouth of babies and infants,        you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3      When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4      what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5      Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6      You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;                      you have put all things under his feet, 7      all sheep and oxen, and also, the beasts of the field, 8      the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9      O Lord , our Lord, how majestic is your name in al

  Scripture: Psalm 7:6-9 (NIV)   Arise, Lord , in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. 7  Let the assembled peoples gather around you, while you sit enthroned over them on high. 8      Let the Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord , according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. 9  Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure— you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.   Devotion:               David, the author of this psalm, is crying out to God to defeat his enemies. The exact historical setting for this psalm is unknown. What is clear is that these unnamed enemies are oppressing David. David knows that the only hope of salvation he has is for the Lord to intervene in this situation. So, he calls on the Lord to rise up against his foes. David knows that he is better off trusting in God’s protection in his hour of peril than relying on his

  Scripture: Psalm 6:6-9 (NRSV) 6      I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. 7      My eyes waste away because of grief; they grow weak because of all my foes. 8      Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9      The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer.   Devotion:                         Psalm six is another psalm requesting the Lord’s help. This psalm, like several others, is called a penitential psalm. For me, the psalm has been of significant use in helping me in my frequent bouts of depression. It openly declares that no matter what trials and sorrows we may be going through, God is there to rescue us from the darkness and restore us to the light. The Lord hears and sees our sorrow and reacts with His steadfast love.               No matter what our ailment might be the Lord always sees and hears our prayers for

  Scripture: Psalm 5:3-7 (NIV) 3  In the morning,  Lord , you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. 4  For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. 5  The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; 6      you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you,  Lord , detest. 7  But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.   Devotion:                          Today’s psalm is a morning prayer. However, it is suitable for any time of any day. In it the psalmist is again asking the Lord for help against enemies. We, today, are just looking at the main body of the psalm which is twelve verses long. This selection gives us the flavor of the whole psalm. In this psalm, traditionally attributed to David, we are urged to bring all our requests before the Lord and expect an answer to them. It contrasts the Lord’

Scripture: Psalm 4:1-8 (NIV) 1  Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress have mercy on me and hear my prayer. 2  How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? 3  Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. 4  Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. 5  Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord, 6  Many, Lord , are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us. 7  Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. 8  In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord , make me dwell in safety.   Devotion:                   The psalm we are considering today is like Psalm 3 a plea to God for help. The historical background for this psalm is not given, but it may be the same

Scripture: Psalm 3:1-8 (NIV) 1  Lord , how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 2  Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” 3  But you, Lord , are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. 4  I call out to the Lord , and he answers me from his holy mountain. 5  I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. 6  I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. 7  Arise, Lord ! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. 8  From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.   Devotion:             Now we consider Psalm 3. It is the first prayer for help contained in the psalms. This Psalm is linked by its superscription to David. It was thought to have been composed after David’s son Absolom chased him from Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15-18). The Psalm moves from cries of despair (v. 1) to bold proclamations of hope and

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT) 1  Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2  But they delight in the law of the Lord , meditating on it day and night. 3  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.   Devotion:                         Psalm One begins by contrasting the righteousness of those who fear the Lord with those who love wickedness, sinning, and mocking God. The former are filled with joy while the latter are filled with bitterness. This contrast clearly shows the benefit of being a child of God. While those of us who follow the Lord may have seasons of sadness and sorrow our lives need never be filled with bitterness and disappointment because we know that our redeemer lives.               Indeed, we can with the psalmist rejoice in the words of scripture that declare the goo

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV) 9  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Devotion:             This world is full of people saying that Christianity is dead. That the church is irrelevant, and we who have faith in Jesus are wasting our time on useless myths. It is to such Christians that Peter addresses this letter. The words in this passage should act like an anti-depressant for our souls. They are a reminder that no matter how bleak our condition may look to us; God has a better plan for His church.             In this passage Peter arranges several well-known passages from the Old Testament to proclaim to us that God has indeed chosen us to be a special people for Himself. Let us look at these pa

Scripture: James 4:11-12 (NIV) 11 Brothers and sisters do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? Devotion:             James here is teaching, indeed commanding, that we do not slander one another in the church. This is another biblical command that is difficult to practice in real life. In the life of a church people get on each other’s nerves making it all to easy to slip into gossip and slander against our brothers and sisters in the Lord. James explains why such evil speaking of one’s neighbor is wrong. When we judge another, we stand above our brother or sister which we must never do.             God has created all humans in His image. All have equal value in His eyes. When we judge o