Tuesday 30 June 2015

PSALM SIX

The psalmist feels desperate. His oppression is physical;-
Psalm 6:2b "my bones are troubled".
His oppression is social and psychological;-
Psalm 6:3   " my soul is greatly troubled".
His oppression is spiritual ;-
Psalm 6:8   "depart from me all you workers of evil"

We need to be delivered/healed in all three areas,
since each can be noticeably limiting.
It is a blessing that help is accessible wherever we find ourselves.
Psalm 139:8 ESV   If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
Strained relationships can make us feel unwell.
We are also vulnerable when our relationship with the Lord
is out of kilter .
Psalm 38:3  ESV   "There is no health in my bones because of my sin"
The psalmist does not have a professional counselor or spiritual director
or even a caring house group to pray over him.
In Psalm six the psalmist feels able to "take it to the Lord in prayer"
with most effective results.....

Adonai has heard my cry  !
Adonai has heard my plea  !
Adonai accepts my prayer   !

Such faith,  such conviction,  enables the psalmist
to speak with authority,
Psalm 6:8  ESV  "Depart from me all you workers of evil"

EPHESIANS 6:12 ESV
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,
against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

So the psalmist engages with "principalities and powers" ( KJV )
when he commands with authority;-
Depart from me all you workers of evil.

How did he reach this point?
In verse three he prayed "save my life"
In Hebrew and in Latin this reads "deliver my soul"
In Septuagint Greek "nephesh" reads" life giving breath"
"my nephesh" reads   " myself...my life...my soul ".

When we are desperate   (  as the psalmist was )
When our life giving breath is at risk, or even restricted,
we become aware of our own breath.....our life giving breath.....
before God in prayer.
To come in all our vulnerability before our creator and Lord,
on whom we totally depend.......,
is a helpful disposition for personal prayer.

Allow yourself to become aware of your breath.........
Be aware that you are in the presence of the Living God.

Sunday 28 June 2015

PSALM FIVE

Psalm 5:1-2  ESV,  English Standard Version.
1   Give ear to my words , O LORD;
     consider my groaning.
2   Give attention to the sound of my cry,
     my King and my God,
     for to you do I pray.

"God and king" might have limited significance if you were a peasant living
 in a forest and the king lived in a palace far away and did not know your name.
But if your God is the God of creation and he chose you personally, before
time began, to be His adopted son, that makes a difference.
Then if the same God also reigns in your heart, not as a tyrant king, but as
the most loving Heavenly Father, bestowing paternal direction, paternal 
love and forgiveness, and blessing upon blessing,.....
then what a blessing that is.

Psalm 5:3  ESV
O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning, I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

Like the psalmist, Jesus rose early
to pray to his Heavenly Father.

Mark 1:35 ESV
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark,
he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

"My God and my king" in verse 2 leads to" my voice," in verse 3
which underlines the personal nature of these attitudes and actions.
The words suggest that the psalmists prayer is spoken aloud;-
"my words"  "my groaning"  "the sound of my cry"
" my voice" and "my prayer". 

It is important that from the beginning of the day
I address God's presence and God's purposes.
I turn up to Him to find out His agenda.
It is not right to get the day started up then decide 
if and when we can fit Him in.

LEVITICUS 20:7-8 New English Bible
Hallow yourselves and be holy,  because I the LORD your God am holy.
You shall keep my rules and obey them: I am the LORD who hallows you.

ESV...Consecrate yourselves          KJV  Sanctify yourselves

In Leviticus 20:7-8 we find, not a text book , but words of direction,
addressed in love by our Heavenly Father.
Psalm 5
7   But I through the abundance of your love
will enter your dwelling place..........
8   Lead me, O LORD in your righteousness.....
12 (13 in the Jewish Study Bible)
For You surely bless the righteous man, O LORD,
encompassing him with favor like a shield.

What a prayer;-   Encompass me with favor like a shield.
What a blessing;-  May the LORD bless you by encompassing you
with favor , like a shield..

Tuesday 23 June 2015

PSALM FOUR

Belief and faith are fundamental. but if the faith and belief are only academic
then forgiveness and love remain mostly academic. We have to trust  God
in practice in the reality of our own lives.
The God of creation is much more than an academic thought. He is real.
We are his created creatures. He is our Creator.
The transfiguration speaks of power and light, but it was not a rock concert.
The power and the light are amazing and supernatural.
The prompting of the Holy Spirit is supernatural.
Blessing involves supernatural power.
Christian love and Christian forgiveness move mountains
and change the material world.
Christians are more than observers,
We are participators in a much greater reality.

Psalm 4 verse 4 calls us to meditation in awe of the Lord,
in full righteousness won for us by the blood of Christ.
While resting in the Lord we are to meditate in silence i.e.listening.
In verses 6-8 the psalmist shares publicly - very publicly-
his own personal experience of grace!
Amid personal affliction and suffered injustice, the psalmist experiences
Spiritual light, Spiritual joy Spiritual peace and divine kindness !
In faith he is physically, mentally and spiritually engaged.

There is no indication in verse 4 that the meditation called for
should be a humanistic consideration without reference to God,
or an academic study. The meditation called for here must be of a truly
charismatic, spirit filled variety accessible to all faith filled believers.....
free to the  braves, not just the chiefs.
We move from contemplative prayer to charismatic witness
with only one verse in between.
Verse five instructs us to trust in the LORD.

Psalm 119:47-48 NRSV
I find delight in your commandments
     because I love them.
I revere your commandments which I love,
     and I will meditate on your statutes.

Three portions of scripture upon which we might meditate,
which point to the supernatural nature of our faith.

Matthew 17:2 ESV                               Light
And he was transfigured before them, 
and his face shone like the sun,
and his clothes became white as light.

Philippians 4:7 ESV                             Peace
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 38:7                                             Joy
When the morning stars sang together
and the sons of God shouted for joy.

Galations 4:6-7 ESV                             Sons and Heirs
And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son
into your hearts, crying"Abba ! Father !"
So you are no longer a slave, but a son,
and if a son, then an heir through God.





Friday 19 June 2015

PSALM THREE

Psalm 3:1  KJV
LORD, how are they increased that trouble me!
many are they that rise up against me.

The  media, every hour, reminds us of the darkness
which is creeping into our society.
Bibles may no longer be placed in student accommodation .
Prayers are prohibited in council chambers.
Deviance is approved by the synod.
Christian counsel is restricted in hospitals.
Crosses are removed from court rooms.

While our church buildings are sold because they are empty,
other church buildings are burned down ;-
in Papua New Guinea,South Sudan India, Pakistan, Nigeria,
Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, China, Indonesia..................

We join all these victims when we come to the LORD.
They are already on their knees before Him.

Celebrity naturalists challenge divine creation !!!
Celebrity scientists challenge God's existence.
But God laughs.

Psalm 2:4 KJV
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh:
the Lord shall have them in derision.

King David addresses the Lord personally in Psalm 3
but he also speaks for the people of God.
From around the world we are joined in prayer
by "Whomsoever will"

1st Timothy 2:2 NKJ
I exhort therefor, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
giving of thanks, be made for all men.;

Denominational names are irrelevant before the Lord.
People in London pray knee by knee with faith filled
believers from many nations and many Christian backgrounds.
But each of us are members of the one body of Christ.
Like the psalmist we sometimes pray on behalf of the
People of God and sometimes we slip into the back row
as one known by name and recognized by our loving Saviour.

Psalm 3:6-8 KJV
6  I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people,
that have set themselves against me round about .
7  Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God;
for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone.
thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8  Salvation belongeth unto the LORD;
thy blessing is upon thy people.

Monday 15 June 2015

PSALM TWO

When we deliberately give our attention to the LORD
in a quiet time of prayer, we try to lay aside the day to day
concerns which usually occupy our mind.
We intend to give the Lord our best attention in prayer.
Most of the nation have the same things in mind.........
whatever the media has been producing that day.
Psalm two reminds us that exploitation, injustice, discrimination
and persecution are not  new things for God's people to experience.
Psalm 2:1-2  NCV
1  Why do the nations rage
             and the peoples devise futile plots ?
2  The kings of the earth rise up and princes conspire together
             against the LORD and his Anointed.
Today news from around the world informs us of discrimination,
persecution and violence against Christians and Jews
Bribery and corruption are not limited to developing countries.
Our media incites its programmers to push the boundaries of common decency.
Abortion, adultery and blasphemy, have been legalized, and caused
to be socially acceptable, by leaders who have turned away from
our Sovereign Lord and His precepts.
But as we enter our prayer time, we do so in the knowledge that
"the desires of the wicked will be fruitless"  Psalm 112:10 NCV.
And as we continue our ongoing relationship in prayer, we are aware
 that Christ's victorious reign in our own hearts is a sign of His final victory,
Our attention is not on those who challenge God's sovereignty.
Our full attention is on our Sovereign Lord  Himself.
Blessed are those who take refuge in Him   Psalm 2:11 NCV
THE MESSAGE//REMIX puts Psalm 2 in a contemporary context.
Why the big noise, nations?
Why the mean plots, peoples?
Earth-leaders push for position,
Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks,
The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers:
Let's get free of God!
Cast loose from Messiah!
Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing.
At first he's amused at their presumption,
Then he gets good and angry.
Furiously, he shuts them up:
"Don't you know there's a King in Zion?
A coronation banquet is spread for him on the holy summit"
Let me tell you what God said next.
He said "You're my son,
and today is your birthday
What do you want? Name it:
Nations as a present? continents as a prize?
You can command them to dance for you,
or throw them out with tomorrow's trash,"
So. rebel kings, use your heads,
Upstart judges learn your lesson:
Worship God in adoring embrace,
Celebrate in trembling awe. Kiss Messiah!
Your very lives are in danger, you know,
His anger is about to explode,
But if you make a run for God---you won't regret it!

         

Saturday 13 June 2015

PSALM ONE

A SECOND LOOK AT THE PSALMS
Awareness of God with us in the present
and the mind of Christ in our present awareness.

In verse 4 of Psalm 23,
"for you are with me"

We sing Psalm 23 in which we acknowledge the good leading and
good shepherding of the one who guides us personally in paths of
righteousness.
The Lord is with us every moment .
We could choose to acknowledge, more often, that we are aware
that we are in the presence of The Triune God.
When we are open to the influences of the living God,
we let the love and wisdom of His mind seep into our own mind
and soak into our heart.
The first psalm offers us six verses of divine guidance.
.
Psalm 1 King James Version
1 Blessed is the man
That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
Nor standeth in the way of sinners,
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
That bring forth fruit in his season;
His leaf also shall not wither;
And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so;
But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement.
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous:
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

May the life of Christ within us
animate our days and direct our ways.
May we sidestep self gratification, self interest and self indulgence....
May we avoid the humanistic temptation to do things all in our own strength,
without reference to God.......
But may we have the grace to choose,
(in divine friendship)
(in the present moment)
(in the Love of the Father)
(in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit)
to have the life of Christ in us personally.

Over the years, hymn writers have expressed such thoughts for believers;-
     O that the Comforter would come!
     Nor visit as a transient guest
     But fix in me His constant home,
     And take possession of my chest         Charles Wesley   1707-1788

     In nearness shall Thy voice be heard;
     Spirit to spirit Thou dost speak.           Alfred Henry Vine, 1845-1917

Breathe on me, Breath of God; Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do.
                                                                   Edwin Hatch, 1835-89
Paul's prayer for us in Ephesians 3:17  is that
Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.