Friday, December 07,
2012, 6:42 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me this morning with the song “Sing Praises” playing in my mind.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 18 (quoting vv. 1-6, 16-19a, 28-30, & 49 in the NIV
1984). After each section of quoted scripture I will share what the Lord Jesus
is teaching me from his word.
Lord, I Love You!
I love you, O Lord, my
strength.
In the New Testament book of 1 John we get a good picture of
what it means to love God:
“Do not love the world
or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is
not in him.” “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life
for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” “Dear children,
let us not love with words or
tongue but with actions and in truth.” “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he
is a liar. For anyone who does not love
his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love
God, whom he has not seen.” “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And
his commands are not burdensome…”
My Deliverer
The Lord is my rock,
my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my
salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the Lord,
who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death
entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave
coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I
called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he
heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears…
The Lord as my rock, my fortress and my stronghold, presents
an image of God to me as immovable, solid, dependable, and having unfailing strength,
power, wisdom and grace to meet me in my time of need 24/7. His love will never
fail me. He will always be there for me day or night. I can go to him anytime,
and he will supply all that I need. He will give me answers to my questions,
and will counsel me when I am troubled or broken at heart. He will comfort me
when I am hurting, he will rejoice with me in my victories, and he will correct
me when I am at fault. He will never leave me or forsake me. Hallelujah!
The Lord as my deliverer brings yet another aspect of God’s
nature and character to mind. He delivered me from slavery to sin; and he
delivered me from a life of giving in to selfish desire and living to please
myself, even if it was on-again, off-again. So, in essence, he also delivered
me from a seesaw kind of existence where I lived for the Lord part of the time
and then I would regress to my old ways and habits. He forgave me all my sin, he
gave me a new life in him, and he continues to grow me in Christ and to daily
keep me from living for self but instead to live a life pleasing to him.
And, he daily delivers me from attacks of Satan, who would
like nothing more than to defeat me in any way possible, and he gives me the
spiritual armor I need with which to fight off my enemy’s attacks so that I can
continue to walk in faith, in victory, and to move forward in my obedience to
Christ and to his will for my life.
A Spacious Place
He reached down from
on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my
powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in
the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into
a spacious place…
When the Lord delivered me, he brought me into a “spacious
place.” To me, this “spacious place” is a figure of being set free from the
entanglements of sin, the control of and bondage (in shackles) to sin, the
guilt and weight of sin, the shame of sin and the hold it had on my life. A “spacious
place” is thus a symbol of freedom in Christ Jesus. And, it is a lot like being
released from a physical prison and being allowed to go freely about my
business. Yet, it is not without confines. It is spacious, and it is free, but
there are still boundary lines, even to this spacious place, and they are for
our protection. They are God’s laws and commands – his rules for followers of
Jesus Christ for daily living in holiness and righteousness, and in moral
purity. These boundaries serve as our fortress and our rock and shield to
protect us from enemy invasion and to keep us from straying away from God’s
word. They serve as the shepherd’s rod and staff for leading and for protecting
his sheep.
Keep my Lamp Burning
You, O Lord, keep my
lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can
advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is flawless…
Jesus said: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither
do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its
stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine
before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:14-16).
“No
one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he
puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light” (Luke
8:16).
Jesus is the light. He is truth, and truth
is light. The opposite of light is darkness. Darkness represents sin, absence
of light (truth and righteousness) and what is evil. Light is truth,
revelation, righteousness and holiness and all that is good and is of God. Our
lamps (our lives) should burn brightly with the light of Christ, his gospel,
his truth and his righteousness and holiness in all love, purity, holiness,
honor and obedience to Christ and to his commands. So, to have our lamps keep
burning means to keep walking in obedience and surrender to Christ and to his
will for our lives, and to have that relationship with Jesus Christ reflected
in all that we do, say and are on a daily basis, including in how we conduct
our lives, in how we share our faith, and in how we show Christ’s love to
others. And, we can only do this in the power, wisdom and strength of the Lord
Jesus within us.
We need to let our lights shine before men
(mankind). We need to love as Jesus loved, to serve others as he served, and to
care for others’ needs (physical and spiritual) in the way Jesus did. And, we
need to be purposeful in sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ to as
many as will listen, and to whom God leads us, and to be sensitive to open
opportunities for sharing his love, grace and gospel of salvation to the ends
of the earth. This is what we were called to do. Jesus did not call us so we
could continue to live selfish lives revolving around what we want to do each
day. He called us to die to self, and to live for him, and to let our lights
shine before men so that all can see the light and love of Jesus, and so that
many will come to know Jesus Christ, too, as Lord and Savior of their lives.
Therefore I will
praise you among the nations, O Lord;
I will sing praises to your name.
Sing Praises / An
Original Work / November 30, 2012
Based off Psalms 6-9
Sing praises to the
Lord!
Tell of His wondrous
works.
Afflicted, they cry
out;
The Lord will not
forget;
The needy, not desert.
The Lord’s our refuge
now;
A stronghold when we fear.
The Lord will ne’er
forsake
The ones, who Him
pursue!
Sing praises to the
Lord!
With all my heart I
sing.
I will rejoice in Him;
Sing praises to His
name;
Tell of His wondrous
works.
My shield is God Most
High.
He saves those who
believe
In Jesus Christ, God’s
Son.
His grace has pardoned
you!
The Lord accepts my
prayer!
The Lord has heard my
cries.
He is so merciful.
He heals my anguished
soul.
The Lord has made me
whole.
Give thanks unto the
Lord.
Give praise unto His
name.
Our Lord is righteousness.
Sing praises to the
Lord!
Sing praises to the
Lord!
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