God’s words are pure words, Pure silver words refined seven times. Psalm 12:6 (TM)

What I found interesting in today’s chapter was the contrast David heard between the words of the people around him and God’s words.

Here in Iowa it’s three weeks until caucus. You can’t spit without hitting a presidential candidate. We were having dinner last Friday night with our small group and Hillary walked in with her entourage. The television is a steady stream of political ads. Promises, threats, spin, and fear-mongering in never ending messages draped in red, white and blue.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy we have a democratic process. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Nevertheless, politicians are not know for the "purity" of their words. I get done watching the news and I feel like I need to take a shower.

God’s words, by contrast, are eternal. They are like fresh spring water constantly bubbling up with renewed, life-giving meaning.

Once we’re standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye. Psalm 11:7b (TM)

There’s something in the male psyche that drives us to want to stand tall before our fathers. We grow up in Dad’s shadow – fighting hard to earn his respect. Boys become men, but still they yearn to look the ol’ man in the eye and hear words like "I love you, son," and "I’m proud of you." I’ve been fortunate to hear both statements – many times – from my Dad. I’ve also known friends still struggling with the fact that they’ve never received "the blessing" and likely never will. Even when you do hear it, the desire to have your father’s respect never goes away.

I hear that as the conclusion of Psalm 11. In verse one we run to the arm of our Heavenly Father. We learn from Him and we are set straight on the right path. It is then that we find ourselves standing tall and looking Him in the eye. It is then that we hear "Well done, son. Well done."

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But you know all about it—the contempt, the abuse. I dare to believe that the luckless will get lucky someday in you. You won’t let them down: orphans won’t be orphans forever. Psalm 10:14 (TM)

Faith is choosing – daring – to believe that God will fulfill His promises despite the current circumstances and overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Faith is…

• Abraham daring to believe that God will give him a child though he and his wife are in their nineties
• Moses daring to believe that God will deliver Israel from Egypt
• Hannah daring to believe that God will open her barren womb
• Young David daring to believe that God will give him victory over Goliath
• Joseph daring to believe the story of his pregnant, betrothed wife

Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief.
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God‘s a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times. The moment you arrive, you relax; you’re never sorry you knocked. Psalm 9:9-10 (TM) 

I’ve always been a fan of spy movies like the Bourne Identity and spy novels like The Brotherhood of the Rose. One of the themes in great spy stories is the "safe house" or Sanctuary. The embattled and worn spy, who has been out on his own can go to the safe house where he will find rest and protection.

We all go through times when we feel out there on our own, surrounded by the enemy. Weary and worn, we need a safe place to rest, to heal, to recharge our batteries. God offers a safe place to rest to all who ask, but you must ask. God provides sanctuary to all who seek, but you must seek. Notice that the psalm says you’ll never be sorry you knocked, but you must knock. For "he who asks receives, he who seeks finds, he who knocks – the door will be opened."
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Join the conversation! What verse in today’s chapter meant something to you? Email subscribers can click on the title of this post and you’ll be taken to a "permalink" of the blog post. Once there, you can scroll down and submit a comment. Feel free to share what you got out of today’s chapter! If you’re viewing this on the blog-site, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the post. Share your own thoughts!

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? Psalm 8:3-4 (TM)

I remember seeing a poster in high school made up of several frames. It showed the earth. In the next frame it showed the Earth as a dot in our solar system. The next frame showed our solar system as a dot in the Milky Way. The next frame showed the Milky Way as a dot in the known Universe. You get the idea. We are so small in the expanse of the cosmos that God made. The reality of it gives even more wonder to the truth that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
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Join the conversation! What verse in today’s chapter meant something to you? Email subscribers can click on the title of this post and you’ll be taken to a "permalink" of the blog post. Once there, you can scroll down and submit a comment. Feel free to share what you got out of today’s chapter! If you’re viewing this on the blog-site, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the post. Share your own thoughts!

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God, if I’ve done what they say— betrayed my friends, ripped off my enemies— If my hands are really that dirty, let them get me, walk all over me, leave me flat on my face in the dirt. Psalm 7:3-5 (TM)

Many of David’s psalms were "imprecatory" in nature. That’s a hoity-toity seminary term for "kill my enemies". David’s call for God to do in his enemies came from a desire for justice, and his desire for justice came from an understanding that his heart had to be right. He could not ask for God to bring justice if his heart wasn’t right – if his own hands were dirty.

We all have a desire for justice. We want God to bless us and punish our enemies. But, this should lead us all to self-examination. A thousand years later, Jesus (who was David’s great-great-great-great-great-like-forty-greats-grandson) would teach us that justice is really a heart issue. If we are God’s children then our hearts will lead us to love and bless our enemies. The question is not so much "God kill my enemies" as much as it is "God help me to respond to my enemies as you would have me respond."

The cool thing is that both David and Jesus’ teaching acknowledge that God is ultimately the judge of both our enemies and us.
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Join the conversation! What verse in today’s chapter meant something to you? Email subscribers can click on the title of this post and you’ll be taken to a "permalink" of the blog post. Once there, you can scroll down and submit a comment. Feel free to share what you got out of today’s chapter! If you’re viewing this on the blog-site, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the post. Share your own thoughts!

Please, God, no more yelling, no more trips to the woodshed. Treat me nice for a change; I’m so starved for affection. Psalm 6:1-2 (TM)

One of the encouraging things for me about the Psalms is that I can commiserate with David and the other writers. We’re all human and share a common human experience. I go through times when my relationship with God seems so strained. When I read David’s honest heart-felt emotion I say, "Yes! Yes! I know what that feels like!" I also understand that sense of faith underneath all of the frustration and despair.

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I know God is for me. I know that He is good. I know that there is purpose for me in my circumstances. That doesn’t mean I won’t feel the pain or the emotions it invokes.

But you’ll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to you. Psalm 5:11 (TM)

When my daughters were little, I could not enter the door of the house without hearing the cries of "Daddy!" and the patter of little feet running into my open, welcoming arms. They are teenagers now. Today, that patter of feet you hear is them running for the door.

My role is different now, as it should be. Like the Prodigal’s father, I often find myself waiting to welcome them. I’m waiting for them to come home. I’m waiting for those moments when they need to run for cover. Then my arms are open to welcome them.

In the same way, Our heavenly Father is waiting for us. His arms are wide open. Run for cover.
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Join the conversation! What verse in today’s chapter meant something to you? Email subscribers can click on the title of this post and you’ll be taken to a "permalink" of the blog post. Once there, you can scroll down and submit a comment. Feel free to share what you got out of today’s chapter! If you’re viewing this on the blog-site, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the post. Share your own thoughts!

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