Psalms 26:8 (27:8)
My heart speaks to You; my face seeks You;
Your face, O Lord, I will seek.
Personal Challenge
Why is it that we only seek God when we need something from Him? Maybe this is part of the reason that God said that David was a man after His own heart? We too, can be like David, and seek Him all of the time. God is always there for us. It is us that become present to Him as we seek Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
Psalms 23:4-5 (24:3-4)
He who has innocent hands and a pure heart;
He who does not lift up his soul to vanity;
He who does not swear deceitfully to his neighbor.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord
And mercy from the God of his salvation.
Personal challenge
Once again the Psalmist provides guidance on how we should behave if we desire to receive God’s blessing and mercy in our lives. We are still dependent upon Jesus for our eternal salvation, but this guidance teaches us how to live our lives within that blessing of salvation. What are we to do to show that we are children of God? Live in a way that we have innocent hands and a pure heart. Flee from vanity. Do not treat our neighbor deceitfully. We cannot say that we do not know what God wants of us. Glory be to God!
Psalms 26:4
One thing I ask from the Lord; this I will seek,
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
And behold the delights of the Lord,
And visit His temple.
Personal challenge
Do I desire my God this much? Is this the one thing that I ask over and over? The house of the Lord is so much better than anything that this world can offer. Do I desire it more than everything in this world? This is the personal challenge… to desire God and His house all the days of my life. Glory be to God!
Psalms 26:1 (27:1)
The Lord is my light and my savior; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defender of my life; whom shall I dread?
Encouraging Words
The sooner that we can embrace the truth that “the Lord is and I am not”, the sooner we will see our lives transformed. The Lord is our light of life. He is our salvation from death. He is our defender, our fortress, throughout life. When we embrace these truths at the core of our being and hold on to them dearly, then we will have no fear and there will be no one or no thing that we will dread. We will surely be free. Glory be to God!
Psalms 24:8-11 (25:8-11)
Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He will instruct sinners in His way.
He will guide the gentle in judgment;
He will teach the gentle His ways.
All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth
For those who seek His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my sin, for it is great.
Encouraging Words
Buried in the middle of this passage are some precious promises. In order to receive these promises, we must change our lives to be a certain way. That way is to be gentle to those around us, our loved ones, our friends, our acquaintances, our neighbors, our enemies, and the stranger amongst us. If we will humble ourselves and be gentle to others, God will guide us in judgment so that we will make decisions that glorify Him. He will teach us His ways. God does not lord it over us, so why do we do this to others? He treats us with love and compassion, so why do we not do this to others? Because we have not yet become gentle. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
Psalms 24:7 (25:7)
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor of my ignorance;
But remember me according to Your mercy,
Because of Your loving-kindness, O Lord.
Encouraging Words
“Remember me according to Your mercy.” Notice that the Psalmist does not ask God to remember him for the good and noble things that he has done. He does not do this because he knows that no matter what we do in our life, no matter how good it might be in our eyes, it never measures up to the good that God is. So we are left only with the ability to plea that God remembers us through His mercy and loving-kindness. Lord, have mercy! Lord, ham mercy! Lord, have mercy!
Psalms 24:4-5 (25:4-5)
Make known Your ways to me, O Lord,
And teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation,
And on You I wait all the day.
Encouraging Words
God is not some far off, detached being that does not care about us. On the contrary, it is always us that creates the distance from Him which causes us to feel like He has left us. We must constantly plea to Him in our prayers to make known His ways to us, to teach us His paths, to lead us in His truth. We do not do this in order to move Him closer to us, but in order for us to draw closer to Him. He is the God of our salvation. If we call upon Him and wait on Him all the day long, then we will move toward Him and know Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy, on me, the sinner!
Psalms 22:6 (23:6)
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord to the end of my days.
Encouraging Words
Many have made the mistake of believing that God’s kingdom, heaven, is something that they will see after they die. But Jesus taught the He had ushered God’s kingdom into our world when He became incarnate. God’s kingdom is now, and forevermore. We can dwell in the house the remainder of our days here on earth and into eternity. This is why God’s goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. Glory be to God!
Psalms 18:8-12 (19:7-11)
The law of the Lord is blameless, converting souls;
The testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making children wise;
The ordinances of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring unto ages of ages;
The judgments of the Lord are true, being altogether just.
More to be desired are they than gold and a very precious stone,
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
For indeed Your servant keeps them;
In keeping them there is great reward.
Encouraging Words
One of the challenges with some of the Western Christian faith practices is that they have thrown out the precepts of following the practices of discipline and obedience out of their belief system. It is believed that by doing things for our God might lead people to believe that we can earn our way into heaven. God is our salvation, our only salvation. That salvation comes through Jesus Christ and His incarnation as fully God and fully man, His sinless life, and His death, burial, and resurrection. For those of us who have been redeemed by Him, our works are our expression of our love for Him and our gratitude for His grace and mercy. We do not view them as earning anything, rather our giving back to Him. Glory be to God!
Verse of the Day 