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Posts tagged with: Psalms

Iranian shepherd walking with sheep

A Suffering Shepherd

The picture I get of Jesus as I read Psalm 23 (and the Gospels) is one of a brave shepherd who leads a suffering people through dark valleys, securing people with love so they can do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Yahweh (Micah 6:8). I hope this picture of the Suffering Shepherd both comforts you amidst challenges and confronts you to be a better leader.

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A Kingly Shepherd

When you do usually hear Psalm 23? Most often you will hear it recited as part of a funeral, emphasizing God’s presence and ongoing care of the one who has died. You would be hard pressed to find Psalm 23 in a wedding! But it’s nevertheless unfortunate that Psalm 23 gets relegated primarily to funerals because it really is a Psalm for everyday life. We need Yahweh not only as we transition from this earth, we need him as a Kingly Shepherd every day.

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young girl blowing dandelions

Lifting Up Those Who are Bowed Down

For those who are powerless Psalm 146 offers a compelling word of hope. If you are oppressed, hungry, and otherwise weighed down, God is on your side. God is your helper. For those who been entrusted with some measure of power, Psalm 146 offers an implicit word of exhortation.

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Plate with the Battle of David and Goliath

Leadership Prayers: Psalm 138

In the context of a congregation, the psalmist acknowledges that leadership is a vocation lived in all aspects of life: in the court of public opinion, among colleagues and competitors, and particularly in the presence of deadly adversaries, a life of faithful leadership plays out. Faith for the psalmist is neither tangential nor compartmentalized. It is central and integral to leadership, even a matter of life or death.

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bird flying overhead beach

Call on God in Truth!

The more we allow the written Word of God to permeate our minds and hearts, the more we will be able to pray in light of God’s true nature and true will. When we pray in this way, not only will we find that our prayers are answered positively, but we will also sense the presence of God in our lives. He will be “close” to us as we meditate upon his truth, growing into a deeper relationship with him.

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old woman smiling

God is My Rock

Psalm 144 begins with a call to praise the Lord, who is identified as “my rock.” What does it mean to call God a rock? In what sense is the living Lord like an inanimate object? How could God be a rock?

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Refuge in the King

King Jesus not only demands our total commitment, he provides a place of rest for the weary. This commitment to have Jesus rule my life begins with and is sustained by taking refuge in this good and powerful king.

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The King, The Son, The Messiah

Psalm 2 is the only place in the Old Testament where God’s Messiah, God’s king and God’s Son are all spoken of in one place. Christians cannot help but think of Jesus when they read this Psalm. All the other kings must answer to this one true king (Psalm 2:6), God’s own son (Psalm 2:7), the anointed (Psalm 2:2). Psalm 2 paints a picture of a king who expects his followers to daily submit their little kingdoms under his lordship.

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Woman reading book while sitting on couch with coffee mug and comfy blanket.

Why God Answers Our Prayers

Thus, even when our confidence in the Lord falters, even when our behavior is anything but faithful, we still cry out to God. Our prayers depend, not upon ourselves, but upon our God who is faithful and righteous, gracious and merciful.

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lhm-tree tops

Dear Lord, Have Mercy!

We do not approach God on the basis of our own worthiness. Rather, we come before him because he is gracious, because he has invited us, because he will give us not what we deserve, but much, much more—and much, much better than we deserve.

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Evil is Not a Delicacy!

Sin usually begins, not with a rush to action, but with our inner being, with subtle temptation, with seemingly harmless intrigue, with a drawing of our hearts that we can at first ignore. But if we lean our hearts in the direction of evil, if we allow its seeming sweetness to tantalize us, then we’re well on our way to “taking part in wicked deeds.”

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Avoiding the Poison of Vipers

In a world that seems increasingly tolerant of venomous speech, it can be easy for us to start spewing it, especially if we’re hurt or angry. As a follower of Jesus, I am committed to not doing this. But I surely need God’s help to keep me from the temporary and self-defeating joy of attacking those who attack me.

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Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

Though a part of me resists dealing with what is wrong in my heart, I know that I need to see my sin as God sees it, so that I might confess and be forgiven, and so that I might turn from my sin to follow the Lord more completely.

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God’s Upside Down Values

If we are proud, if think we are really amazing, if we’re overly impressed with ourselves, then God may keep his distance from us. Perhaps this is because proud folk tend to be self-reliant. They aren’t inclined to need anybody else—including God.

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What Should We Do With a Verse Like That?

God and God alone has the right and authority to dispense his judgment on Babylon. Thus this verse does not condone our acts of vengeance on those who have hurt us. Rather it invites us to bring our desires before God.

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