Psalm 117

Scripture

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.

 

Observation

The psalmist of this chapter really keeps it “short and sweet” and emphasizes praising the Lord. They argue that God is good all the time, and that His love endures forever. In addition to this His faithfulness has no end.

 

Understanding

Arguably one of the shortest books of the Bible, but packed with a lot of meaning. “Praise the Lord” alone offers a whole array of ideas and actions that we can take, but I thought I’d break down what some of the important words in these verses are:

• Praise: expression of approval or admiration for someone or something
• Lord: having power authority or influence; a master or a ruler
• Extol: praise enthusiastically
• Faithfulness: quality of being faithful; fidelity
• Endures: remain in existence; lasts

These words show up in the Bible on many different occasions, meaning that they must be pretty important. To EXTOL/PRAISE God is so important in our daily living, as it reinforces the idea that God’s love and FAITHFULNESS ENDURES long after we leave this earth. But I think that a lot of times we overthink what to do or say to God. Whether we’ve run out of things to say, we think God has grown tired of our voice, or we just don’t feel like talking to God, He remains faithful to listen. In addition, He is the LORD above all, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

 

Life Application

Praising God does not have to be an elaborate process.

A lot of times we put pressure around talking to God that we just don’t do it. But as this psalm demonstrates its super easy! Also, it’s already done for us. So read this chapter again and through the perspective of you actually believing it and doing it. God doesn’t have a time frame for spending with us and neither should we!

-Allison Khan

Psalm 116

Scripture: 

Psalm 116: 5-7

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

Observation-What does it say?

This whole Psalm is awesome, but I decided to choose the part about God’s character. 

Understanding-What does it mean?

When we meditate on the perfect character of God as revealed in His perfect Word, it brings us peace and comfort.

Life Application

Katie Thompson did a great job speaking on “Overcoming Anxiety” last Sunday night. Please check it out! You can watch it on YouTube at this link:  https://youtu.be/JIjuniF2eB8

On the physical level, anxiety is basically a build up of adrenaline in the brain and body that has no place to go. That’s why mental health professionals say that exercise is important for very anxious people. However, on the spiritual/soul level, it is a lack of peace and rest. A few of the ways to counteract that lack of peace and rest is by going to Jesus, through Prayer, His Word, and Worship, which Katie so eloquently spoke about. 

As we meditate on the Word of God and His amazing character of saving grace, righteousness, compassion, protection, and goodness (as this Psalm talks about), our soul comes to a place of rest. Let’s thank Him today for all of His amazing qualities, that we as His children, filled with the Holy Spirit, have direct access to. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, WITH thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

-Michelle Gaddi

Ezekiel_35

Scripture

 

Ezekiel 35:6b

Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.

Observation - What does it say?

Israel has no more implacable enemy than Edom. As the descendants of Esau, whose brother Jacob stole his birthright and his father’s blessing, the Edomites view the Israelites as illegitimate rulers and thieves. So shortly after Nebuchadnezzar razes Jerusalem in 586 b.c., Edom seizes its opportunity for revenge and swoops in to fill the political vacuum that results. The Edomites are not operating as God’s instruments. They attack Israel out of their own greed, thinking no one is left to oppose them. They are wrong. The land of Israel never belongs to the people themselves; it belongs to God. When the Edomites sneak in to pillage the land of Israel, they find the stewards of the land gone or severely weakened, but the true Owner is at home and is ready to prosecute them for their actions. (From The Voice Bible)

Understanding - What does it mean?

The language God uses in his judgement against Edom is interesting. He doesn’t say, “Since you shed blood…” but “Since you did not hate bloodshed.” There is something about not just doing the right thing but actually loving what is right; not just avoiding sin because God hates it but truly hating it ourselves. In other words, it’s about our heart condition.

This makes more sense when you consider what Jesus said in Matthew 12:35, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” 

He also said in Matthew 7:18, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” Our actions, good or bad, flow from within; the outward actions are a reflection of the heart.  C.S. Lewis said something to the effect of, “God isn’t so concerned with the specific actions you take but with the kind of person you are becoming.”

Life Application

Ask God for more of His heart.

God, please change our hearts! May we not just try to do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing. Instead, may we truly love you! Please also give us your heart toward sin. May our primary motive in avoiding sin not be fear of punishment, but a hatred for it as we live in awareness of it's destructive consequences and the suffering you endured to do away with it. Give us more of your heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Go to this link for an overview of Ezekiel 34-48: https://youtu.be/SDeCWW_Bnyw

- Levi Thompson