OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 92

Psalm 92:1-15

92:1-4 It is such an important element of our day, prayer and life to give thanks to the Lord. To live a life of gratitude not just for what He has doing but also for what He is doing, and for all of the promises He has made. Such reflection helps us to remain connected with Him and active in our relationship with Him. Gratitude helps us gain and retain perspective and subsequently wisdom, hope and blessing. 

But we should also consistently thank Him just because of Who He is and what He stands for. He is compassion. He stands for justice, for the downtrodden and the weak. He is peace and hope embodied. 

92:5-7 Our God is wise and perceptive. He easily dismantles the plans of the wicked when His children invite Him into their lives to do so. And He crushes evil with finality. He has promised blot the wicked out, to disappear them and their thoughts and cruelties from our world through His kingdom.

92:8-9 For eternity His kingdom stands and our God reigns. Enemies perish and iniquity is scattered to the winds. 

92:10-11 But the righteous are upheld by God, even as they live in the midst of that iniquity. Faithful children of God, by their trust in His protection, are impervious to the plots of the wicked.

92:12 The righteous are obedient to God and thus receptive to His blessing. The righteous listen to Him, learn from Him and follow Him... and so they flourish. By God instruction and support they grow strong and wise and kind and hopeful. They are strong trees planted, rooted in the Kingdom of God. They cannot be cut down or worn down. 

92:13-15 The righteous bear fruits, blessings that abound because they have learned to sow. The righteous are constantly renewed, reinvigorated by our awesome, life-giving God. Our steadfast, trusting relationship with Him is dynamic. He is aware of and prepared for every aspect of our lives. His wisdom and strength is fresh, and so we are refreshed in Him. And with out good spiritual health we praise and thank God and declare His righteousness. 

He is our rock. Our foundation. Stable. Eternally established. Pure.

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 91

Psalm 91:1-16

91:1-2 Our relationship with God is a personal space. He is our refuge and fortress, our offense and defense. From the strong tower of faith we watch as our enemies are turned away by God's justice and planning. By trusting God, we walk into that fortress and allow the doors of protection to seal behind us. 

91:3-6 God protects us from all of our enemies, within and without. Our trust in Him gives us access to His entire arsenal of defense. Temptation, depression, enemy... all of it is turned away by Him. His wisdom counsels us into making better life decisions; His love redesigns our sorrow into joy. His strength intimates and destabilizes our enemies.

91:7-8 The righteous life to see justice delivered to the wicked.

91:9-12 When we make the Lord our dwelling place, we have evacuated all other places. We have rejected the world and chosen this philosophy instead. When we declare God as our dwelling place, we have provision and protection that cannot be measured. He implements protection: "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone."

God protects our present, heals our past and plans for our future. He assigns angels to assist us, because we have chosen Him. By choosing God, we have access to eternity and blessing that seems impossible to the rest of the world. Most people cannot even conceive of it... but to we who choose and trust God, it is a reality. 

91:13 That which might have made us stumble is made surmountable. God ensures that we prevail, even if we need divine intervention in order to do so. 

91:14-16 The end of this Psalm is a promise made by our Father:

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation.”

As surely as our God makes promises, He keeps them.  Carry these promises with you, the fuel of your hope. And keep the promises you make to Him. Let it be a mutual, steadfast relationship.

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 90

Psalm 90:1-17

90:1-2 God is and has created our dwelling place: spiritually and physically. He has designed our planet and our bodies to coexist and ideally, support each other. He created planets, mountains, seas and all of the science behind them. But He is also our place of peace; God is the place we go to for comfort, counsel, rest, and inspiration. Our physical bodies are on earth, but our eyes should be fixated on God. Our soul and mind should exist within His philosophy, His kingdom.

90:3-6 From God's perspective, human lives are fleeting. Short and fast. In comparison to the eons and eternity of His existence. He has seen us through all stages of the development, the earth and solar system and universe through all of its stages of development. It is so important that we make our journey on this planet spiritual in nature. That we seek Him find Him and choose Him.

90:7-12 God's righteous indignation against evil actions is easy to understand when we consider that He considers how short our time here is. We have these precious, fleeting moments to choose righteousness and peace. It is such a terrible waste for us to lose eternity because of selfishness on earth.

God uses His righteous indignation to instruct us. He teaches us to be better, to change. This Psalm is a reminder that it is crucial for us to "gain a heart of wisdom", to adapt to God's philosophy. We only have so long to do so.

90:13-17 The Psalmist prayed for compassion and mercy. He prayed for joy. He prayed to appreciate the moments of discipline that led him to better self-awareness, purposefulness, gratitude and servitude in the kingdom. He prayed to see light in a sometimes-dark world. He prayed for awareness, perception, perspective and appreciation of the earth and opportunity before him. He prayed to see God's hand in everything. He prayed for the beauty of God's intervention in his life. He prayed that what he did would be established by God.

In essence, he prayed to completely submit to God's will. And when we do the same, our whole life changes.

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 89

Psalm 89:1-52

89:1-2 As God's children, we make a commitment to praise and speak about Him. As the Psalmist points out, the foundation of our Father's house has been built with faithfulness and mercy forever; meaning that, our God will never abandon us and will constantly forgive us from a place of compassion. We do not just receive God's forgiveness. We receive God forever. And His forgiveness is given without a grudge, without resentment or reluctance. He forgives with heartfelt compassion. His love is unique and emphatic and generous.

89:3-4 Scripture contains the promise of His eternal presence that He declared. Do we know those promises that He has made to us? To claim them, we must know them. To have peace from them we must be familiar with them. God has made a covenant with His righteous children... and ancient, eternal, relevant, present-day promise. He has promised to be our family forever.

89:5-10 We praise God on earth; He is praised in the heavens. Because he cannot be compared to. His kindness is unmatched. His faithfulness and strength and wisdom and creativity is unmatched. He commands nature, He invented it. He declared righteousness and whoever, whatever opposes it, He crushes.

89:11-12 Everything belongs to God. He created all and founded His kingdom as its head. We have the comfort of knowing that everywhere we are, every place we look, anywhere we have to walk through belongs to Him and is within His authority.

89:13-18 Our God is a wise creator but He is also strength. He is also authority. And blessed are those who rejoice in that truth. For He upholds righteousness, and protects our peace. He lights our way. Therefore we praise. He is our savior, our home, our warrior, our King.

89:19-23 When the people accepted God's will over their lives, they had peace and power and prosperity. God chose David, the youngest of a humble family to establish a nation. He built in David the wisdom and courage necessary to solidify Israel's presence in the midst of enemy and opposition.

We should accept and rejoice in God's will over our lives. We should invite Him as an authority. He should make the decisions: Romans 8:26, God knows what we need better than we do. His will provides. Protects. Guides. Lights. Plans. God's love is comprehensive, progressive, bold, victorious.

89:24-29 David loved God emphatically. His love for God was the joy and purpose of his life. When we make such commitments to righteousness, God's light illuminates a beautiful, blessed path for us to walk and achieve along. A path that leads  right into the kingdom and continues forever.

89:30-37 God has promised to be a true Father to us. He loves us without partiality or condition. He also disciplines us when we need to change and grow. He will not award bad behavior because He knows that would be a toxic lifestyle for us. He wants the best for us. Many times in history, people have abandoned God and forsaken righteousness. They walked off the path and lost the light. God is faithful to us, but we often are not faithful to Him. We must learn from scripture that abandonment of our faith and commitment to righteousness leads to desolate. We must remember that it is easier to forgive, to change, to humble ourselves than to live in the desolation that anger, pride and greed cause.

89:38-45 When our choices cause us to need discipline, we cannot blame God. God is good. Every move He makes is for our well-being. He does not abandon or ignore.  It is we who walk away from God. If we want blessing, we need to move ourselves near to Him and remain there.

89:46-48 God does not hide from His beloved children. He has wrath only for the evil. We often forget how short our lives are but God does not. He wants our lives to be as blessed as possible and if discipline is required to accomplish that, so will it be. In death we cannot praise Him. Because He deserves praise, we should make our best, righteous effort to live, to eternally praise Him.

89:49-51 Ironically, like the Psalmist, we pray for God to remember us. But we are the ones who forget Him.God made an eternal commitment to the whole of humanity and He knew of each member when He made that commitment. He does not forget; in fact, He knows the details (Luke 12:7), and inner thoughts of each of us (Psalms 139:2). He remembers to protect us, to provide for us, to do all that He does that we do not realize or know we need. We need to remember that, and praise Him.

89:52 "Blessed be the Lord forevermore! Amen and Amen."

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 88

Psalm 88:1-18

88:1-2 The Psalmists in scripture provide us great example of earnest prayer. Even when we do not feel good, we have a good God. We have a God who listens, cares and heals us back into good places.

88:3-5 The Psalmist felt troubled and weak, hopeless and lifeless. But they used the last ounce they had left to pray to God. To communicate with Him, to trust in God. And God will always revive the spirit of a child who prays to Him. Our God is compassion manifested; He loves us well and deeply.

88:6-8 In the pit, the depth, the darkness we still have access to God's light. Righteousness rejects darkness and darkness flees, James 4:7. Many mis-assign the troubles in their life to God; but the truth is that He helps us out of trouble, cautions us away from it, and teaches us to resist it.

88:9-12 The Psalmist still had a journey to make in faith. We all do. Through a lifelong, faithful relationship with God, our trust in Him grows and deepens. As does His trust in us. We call upon Him and stretch out our Hands to Him and He reaches back. He hears. We do so by our actions in life and our conversations with Him.

Our God is the God of the living, not the dead, Mark 12:27. Those who pray and praise to Him are alive and kept alive; because God has declared the righteous eternal.

88:13-18 We must not mistake God's patient, perfect timing for silence. He sees; He hears; He plans for your life. His will unfolds in your life at the pace He has determined is best for you. Through seasons of joy or discipline, sadness or growth, God is good and near and active. He loves you. He does not punish you or ignore you. He is always instructing you; giving you the opportunity to grow in character, in faith, and spiritual strength. 

God is our loved one and friend, but He is never far from us. He is consistently our Light. If we cannot perceive Him, it is due to a missing element of our faith. For He is present.

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 87

Psalm 87:1-7

87:1-4 The Kingdom of God exceeds in excellence all of the cities of the world. It is in His house that we find justice and righteousness, peace and wisdom, compassion and hope. In His kingdom we find the tree of life.

87:5-6 God establishes the eternal, glorious kingdom and registers all of the righteous inhabitants of it.

87:7 "All my springs are in You." It is from God that we receive the living water. We praise because He sustains and blesses us.

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 86

Psalm 86:1-17

86:1 As a child of God, we have the privilege of the attention of Father. We call to Him, and He answers. He hears and cares. Whatever our lack or need is, He is willing and able to fill it. 

86:2 God preserves the lives of those who set themselves apart from the ways of the world in order to adopt God's philosophy. When we are faithful to the path of God, we always arrive at the kingdom. Along the path of God are the fruits of righteousness and the protection of God. We trust in God exclusively and are therefore not called off of the path by any voices in our periphery. We may hear them, but we do not trust them and therefore we do not choose them.

86:3 In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are told to pray without ceasing; we must involve God in every aspect of our lives. Continually in conversation with Him, requesting and absorbing His counsel, ceaselessly grateful and consciousness in faith. Because through such active faith, our lives are open to so many blessings. The more directly we follow our Father's example, the clearer our path to His kingdom and blessing.

Pray continually for mercy and truth, justice and love, compassion and hope.

86:4-5 David identified himself as a servant of God. When we pray, we pray not just for ourselves but as instruments of His will. We pray because we want to abound our blessing, share with, and thus lift, others. As we have been lifted.

86:6-7 David depended on God; he knew that if he called on God, God would answer. He always trusted that God would have an answer, a solution, a plan of rescue, redemption and victory. The strength of our faith is the solidity of our trust in God.

86:8-10 Nothing, no one, no force or entity or institution of idea compares to our God. Our Creative Father. He is wise and powerful and compassionate. He is just and merciful and good. He does wondrous things, and His children have experienced that wonder. Then and now. And nothing compares. Nothing fills us or cares for us the way He does. No one plans the way He plans. No one have the scope or strength of power that He does. No one has access the way that He does to the minute details the way that He does.

86:11-12 David prayed as a servant, wanting to be a lifelong student of our Masterful Teacher. David worked to live a life of reverence and praise for God. He committed his whole heart to God and God's cause. Eternally. Because David realized that God is worthy of such commitment. There is nothing better or more productive we could commit ourselves to than righteousness.

86:13 David personally experienced the rescue. We call to God and He changes our whole lives. Drowning in a swirling sea, He places us on a mountain top. Alone in a desolate wilderness, He brings us into His house. He turns our entire lives around. From crooked to straight. Inside-out to outside-in. He corrects all the little things, strengthens all the weak points and loves us fiercely through the journey. He provides abundantly through the journey. His touch in our lives is amazing.

86:14-15 Fierce enemies did not overwhelm David because he knew that they were nothing compared to His God. Evil and fear cannot break the defenses our God places around His children. They may come close, but their entrance is restricted. Our faith is too strong a barrier between us and them.

86:16-17 David prayed, cried out for rescue and He knew that God would come. He knew that God would help and comfort. Because God keeps His promises. David's life is a reminder to us to bring God into every moment of our lives, the constantly talk with God. To constantly depend on Him and trust in Him. Our prayer in faith gives us access to the storehouses of God's heart. To spiritual armour and blessing and truth and provision and protection and plan. Praise our glorious Father.

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 85

Psalm 85:1-13

85:1-3 A statement of all the things God has done for His people; God is favorable to us, rescues us, forgives us, cleanses us. He is merciful when our behavior does not deserve it. We receive so much from God in addition to forgiveness: blessing and protection. He redirects us; He places us on His path, thereby separating us from the way of the world.

85:4-7 The Psalmist pleaded for the mercy and forgiveness God promised to those who would love Him and live righteously. In time of discipline, we pray for His forgiveness. But our prayer only matters if we are sincere and willing to learn and change.

85:8-9 We must listen to God's instruction. He teaches peace and outlines the path to it. But we must commit to His philosophy of life. To His commandments, statues and laws. We must emulate Jesus' life of fierce and steadfast faith, compassion and servitude. Salvation is within the grasp of those who revere the Lord. Glory dwells in our land when we dwell with our God.

85:10-11 For our Father is the merging of mercy and truth, righteousness and peace. He establishes truth and righteousness as the law of the land, directly from heaven.

85:12-13 Our God provides goodness and abounds goodness. He increases what He gives. His tree of life yields eternal, abundant. To follow Him, we need only to live righteously. The path of righteousness has been made by God's footsteps, His character and soul and choices.

His footsteps are the path of the righteous.

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 84

Psalm 84:1-12

84:1-2 In Mark 12:30, we are told to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." The Psalmist opening of this Psalm is an expression of that love. It is an expression of awe and longing for God and the arrival of His just kingdom on the earth. Above all other longings of the heart and flesh, the Psalmist longed for God. 

As humans there are a lot of things and scenarios and people we dream of having and, being in and being with. But for a child of God, our ultimate longing is for Him and for His will in our lives. Our awe in His master plan causes us to push everything else out of the way to make space for it in the forefront of our lives. 

84:3-4 Our God is welcoming and gracious; His love extends to all: large and small, arboreal and terrestrial. He is the tree of life, the haven by which we all receive protection and provision. We are loved and blessed and so we praise from our place on His tree. 

84:5-7 Blessed are those who derive their strength from God. Blessed are we whose purpose and heart and mind and soul is solely focused on our journey to the heart and Kingdom of God. Our path is straightforward and lighted. We are blessed because on this path, we have the mercy, compassion, provision, protection, guidance and light of God. 

Along God's path we walk through spring and living waters, from strength to strength. It is a different path than the secular world chooses. Our path is selfless, righteous, faithful. Bright and restful and forgiving and generous. Our experience in life is wholly different because of God's fingerprints all over every part of our lives we devote to Him.

84:8-9 The Psalmist prayed for the ear and attention of God on His faithful children. And to that prayer, God always answers: yes. It is our duty to ensure that we are prayed to Him, inviting Him into our lives and handing over control to His hands. Because He will answer yes to the prayer, yes to the invitation, and yes to the responsibility of maintaining your life. But we must ask! Freedom of choice requires that we choose God.

84:10 The Psalmist perspective is perfect: A day in God's courts is better than a thousand days outside of it; the doorstep of the House of God is better than a whole dwelling place in the midst of wickedness. A humble life in the presence of our righteous God is better than an arrogant, controlling, greedy life away from Him. 

The victory, the abundance, the honor humans seek is only ever truly established through humility and obedience to God. The power and responsibility is found in servitude to God. The secular world seeks victory and honor, abundance and power by trampling on justice and rejecting selfishness. We must work on our perspective or we will never find true victory or honor.

84:11 God is a sun and a shield; He is our light and protection. He generously gives grace and glory and good things to those who live righteously.

84:12 Blessed indeed is the person who trusts in God. His wisdom is sound and eternal. His path is clear and leads to life. His justice is perfect. His plan is complete. His victory is secured. His love for you is true. His purpose for you is good.

OT: The Book of Psalms, Psalm 83

Psalm 83:1-18

83:1 Our ultimate prayed in life should be for God to be vocal, present and active in our lives and in the world around us. Our God is constantly a Father and employs instruction and discipline throughout our lives. We should welcome and treasure His contributions to our lives, His judgement on our actions and His advice for the growth of our character. Sometimes what He has to say will not be what we want to hear, but it will always be what we need to hear.

83:2-4 The Psalmist felt surrounded by enemies and tumult. He felt like the people around him where more cunning and powerful then he was. It's true that we, ourselves, will not at all times in all places be the smartest or the most clever. Neither will we be the strongest. But every time we walk into a room with God, with our faith, having given our Father full authority in our lives, we become those things. Because God is the smartest and most clever. He is the strongest. With Him, we are not vulnerable to our enemies. 

83:5-17 Our ultimate war is against evil; and it was a war God has already won. In the meantime, while people live and subsequently decide which side of the war they are on, we have our God to insert justice through our prayers. The Psalmist prayed for the wicked to be thwarted and ashamed of their behavior. We learn from scripture how powerful intercessory prayer is. God listens to and answers our prayers. Our work on earth as agents of His philanthropy matters. Our faith makes a difference; our prayer for others changes lives because our God is attentive and fantastically compassionate. 

83:18 The whole earth shall know that our God is the Most High. Enemies continue to fall as we raise God with our praise.