Psalm_9

Scripture  Psalm 9:9-10  The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble; And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. Observation-What does it say?  This psalm was written by David, and it is possible that both chapters nine and ten were written as one psalm.  Several things that indicate this include it’s structure being in the form of an acrostic, the first letter of every other line follows the order of the Hebrew alphabet, and it is the only psalm in chapters 3-32 that doesn’t contain a superscript.  Chapter 9 is mostly concerned with praising God for deliverance from Israel’s enemies, though none are specifically named.  Verses 7-10 are a celebration of God’s righteous rule, which evokes trust in those who seek the Lord. Understanding-What does it mean?  I love to eat, which is largely why I exercise as much as I do.  Otherwise, I might look like Homer Simpson.  I have found that I have some emotional patterns in my eating.  When I am happy, I eat more savory foods.  This is when I like to have groups of people over, like at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  When I am stressed or feeling insecure, I eat more sweets and desserts.  When I listen to the clues of my eating, I can use it as a time to reflect on my life.   The other day, I ate almost a whole box of S'mores cookies before I stopped to question what was wrong. On top of everyone’s normal routine being completely upended, I have had four schedule changes at work since January.  For me, this includes having to cope with new supervisors, a different sleeping schedule, as well as adjusting for things like vacation. Of the biggest concern lately was the supervisor change.  My current supervisor is difficult and I feel like I am walking on egg-shells all day.  It makes it difficult to be motivated for anything while I am at work. When I really consider the cause of my stress, I find it’s because I am trying to depend on my own strength to live day in and day out instead of relying on God’s provision for me.  If I were to look to God’s Word when I feel inadequate, instead of the comfort of a S’mores cookie (which never lasts very long), I would be quicker to remember and be filled with His comfort.  Sometimes, this means I need to praise God when I don’t feel like it, in order to practice the posture of praise.  In praising Him, I will be reminded of how He cares for me in my time of trouble.   Life Application  Jesus, thank You for being a comfort in time of trouble.  Help me to remember that You knew me before I was made (Jeremiah 1:5), and that I am more important to You than sparrows (Matthew 10:29), and that You will make all things work out for good when I search for You (Romans 8:28).  Help me to come to You in my time of need, praising You for the goodness I have always experienced from You.    
-Tyler Galloway

Isaiah_55

Scripture

Isaiah 55

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;

    call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake their ways

    and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Observation

It sounds like he was talking about Jesus in this chapter. I had noticed that the chapters before spoke of Jesus hundreds of years before he came to this earth. So cool how God speaks to us of what is to come in our future. Even now he speaks.

Understanding

Verse 7 tells the people who did terrible things to stop doing them and abandon the habits. And to the sinners to stop thinking their terrible thoughts and ideas. If they would forget about the evil ways and turn toward God He would have mercy and forgive them.

Immediately after, God says that he doesn’t think like us, like humans. He doesn’t have our wicked ways or our unrighteous thoughts.

Human beings are not prone to freely forgive or extend mercy. Our tendency is to take note, remember it, so it will give us power and control, so it will protect us.

 Our vision and insight is seen from the ground view, face to face with our offender.

But God sees from a higher perspective. God’s eye view sees things we cannot see.

He sees our value,

He sees who we could become,

He sees His Son.

Application

 Seek the Lord while he may be found;

    call on him while he is near.

God is right here, ready and waiting to pour out in abundance his mercy and forgiveness. Holy Spirit is here waiting to empower us to change our thoughts that hold us captive to our bad habits.

Seek the Lord while he may be found;

    call on him while he is near.

 

-Deborah Lee

Luke 16

Scripture

Luke 16:10-15

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Observation-What does it say?

Jesus had just told a parable about a shrewd manager and gave a lesson on the importance of being trustworthy in handling wealth and also trustworthy with managing someone else’s property, not stingy or wasteful with it. 

Understanding-What does it mean?

It ALL belongs to God.

All of our gifts, talents, time, abilities and resources belong to the Lord. His resources, such as money, which is specifically highlighted in this passage, must be steward wisely. Although only 10% is required to be returned, the rest of the 90% belongs to God as well. 

The more trustworthy we are in handling His money, His gifts, His talents, His time, His resources, etc., the more He will entrust to us to manage.

Life Application

Be a trustworthy servant of the Lord and steward what He owns (our lives) wisely. 

Our whole lives belong to the Lord. We would not be alive today or have what we have today without His faithfulness and grace. 

We must love the Owner more than the gift. We serve the Giver, not the gift. 

It’s interesting in this passage how it talks about the Pharisees’ love of money. I would think that men who followed the law and did things by the book would steer away from that, but it reminds me that God does not look at the outward appearance, but the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Their outward appearance would suggest that they were giving servants, but in their heart, they only gave to be seen (Matthew 6:1-4). They only gave out of what they already had, instead of giving ALL they had (Luke 21:1-4). They only gave out of obligation, not a cheerful heart (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Dear Lord, I pray that Your Holy Spirit would constantly remind us that our whole lives belong to You. I pray we would be a church that gives of our lives freely and generously, especially when it comes to furthering Your Kingdom. Amen.

-Michelle Gaddi