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!

Psalms 17:47 (18:46)

The Lord lives, and blessed is my God.
Let the salvation of my God be exalted,

Encouraging Words

No matter how much some people may proclaim that God does not exist, it does not change the truth. People can believe what they want, but God’s truth always prevails. He loves! He and only He is blessed. Only through Him, and by Him, can mankind and creation find salvation. Glory be to God, our Salvation!

Psalms 17:33 (18:32)

It is God who girds me with power,
And He made my way blameless;

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to get caught up in the belief that we are self-made and have power on our own. God is the only true source of power. Anything else is only temporal and fleeting. God is the only one that can make our paths straight and blameless. we must pursue Him and stay close to Him if we desire to be strong and blameless for Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 17:2-4 (18:1-3)

thus he said:
“I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my foundation, my refuge, my deliverer;
My God is my helper, on Him I will hope,
My champion, the horn of my salvation, and my protector.
I will call upon the Lord and praise Him,
And I shall be saved from my enemies.”

Encouraging Words

David had some pretty difficult times in his life. He loved God deeply and trusted Him completely. He slew the giant Goliath with 3 smooth stones ending the oppression of the Philistines and then was immediately hated by King Saul out of jealousy. After Saul sinned gravely, David was anointed king but pursued aggressively by Saul who wanted to kill him. He was also pursued by many others who did not want him to fulfill his role as the king. Through all of this, he remained loyal to his God because he knew his source of life nested in Him. This part of his Psalm shows how much he trusted and loved his God. We too can claim these truths about God because He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God will save us from our enemies. Glory be to God!

Psalms 16:1-9 (17:1-9)

Listen, O Lord of my righteousness;
Attend to my supplication;
Give ear to my prayer that is not with deceitful lips.
From Your face let my judgment come;
Let my eyes behold uprightness.
You tested my heart, when You visited me in the night;
You tried me in the fire, and found nothing unjust in me.
That my mouth might not speak of the works of men,
I held to hard ways because of the words of Your lips.
Restore my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
I cried out, because You listened to me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my words.
Magnify Your mercies,
O You who save those who hope in You
From those who rise up against Your right hand.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
In the shelter of Your wings, You will shelter me
From the face of the ungodly who trouble me.
My enemies surrounded my soul;

Personal challenge

Sometimes we need to be like David and just plea to God hoping that He will hear our petitions and supplications. He hears them, but how often do we not hear our own prayers and do what we know is right in God’s eyes in order to draw close to Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 15:11 (16:11)

You made known to me the ways of life;
You will fill me with gladness in Your presence;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Encouraging Words

One of the blessings of pursuing Christ and attempting to walk in His footsteps is that He will make known to us the ways of life. We do not cherish this knowledge because it gives us an advantage over our fellow humans but because it helps us to follow in His footsteps even more. It is all about Him and nothing about us. This is why we are filled with gladness in His presence. These are the pleasures at His right hand forevermore. Glory be to God!