Psalm 84

Scripture

 

Psalm 84: 1-2; 10-121 How lovely is your dwelling place,    Lord Almighty!2 My soul yearns, even faints,    for the courts of the Lord;my heart and my flesh cry out    for the living God…….10 Better is one day in your courts    than a thousand elsewhere;I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;    the Lord bestows favor and honor;no good thing does he withhold    from those whose walk is blameless.12 Lord Almighty,    blessed is the one who trusts in you. Observation-What does it say?I love worship songs that are based in Scripture! The song” Better is One Day” is based on Psalm 84. The Psalmist is saying that there is no safer place to be than with the Lord God Almighty. Understanding-What does it mean?Nothing in life compares to being in His presence. Being safe in loving arms and care of our Heavenly Father is priceless. We have no better advocate and friend than Jesus and no better counselor than the Holy Spirit.  Life ApplicationSpend time with Jesus.Where and when do you spend uninterrupted time with the Lord?  Where is your secret place where you meet and communicate with Him? In a special prayer closet? In bed first thing in the morning or before you sleep at night? During your commute to work? Outside in your backyard surrounded by nature? I pray that we would always seek time with You 1st and may everything else be secondary. Better is one day in Your courts than a thousands elsewhere Lord. Amen. -Michelle Gaddi Better is One Day (worship)

https://youtu.be/jdE03zRJtxw

Galatians___1

Scripture

Galatians 1:10 NLT

“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

Observation-What does it say?

Paul is writing to the churches of Galatia. He reminds them that there is only one true gospel message... a message of grace and freedom found in Jesus Christ. Anyone who dares to pervert this message should be set aside for God’s destruction. However, Paul’s opposition accused him of preaching a gospel of grace and freedom from the law in order to please the Gentiles, so he could be more “popular” amongst the people. Paul insisted that his desire was to please God only. He reminds his opposition of the man he once was, and it is only through a direct experience he had with Jesus Christ, (on his way to Damascus), in which the true gospel of God was revealed to him. And now his one mission was to please God and share this revelation of the true gospel to everyone!

Understanding-What does it mean?

Please an audience of One.

More than often, I get caught up with what others may think of me. I struggled with this way too many times as a youth. I often fell into peer pressure just to try to fit in with a crowd. Some of the things I would do are things I’m not too proud of either. Fast forward to the present time. I still find myself struggling with these issues. Now like Paul, I too know my mission in life that God has given me, a mission of multiplying Christ Followers everywhere (Matthew 28:18-20). But I hate to admit, sometimes I cower in those situations. The Holy Spirit will tell me to pray for someone, or provide an opportunity for me to share the gospel, and instead of boldly following God, I am passive and get too concerned what others around may think or say. “What a weirdo!”, or “He’s one of those Jesus freaks!” they may say. But this verse reminds me who cares what others may think or say?! There is only One person I should really care about pleasing. Am I doing whatever it takes to make sure that happens?

Life Application

Here is verse to ponder on this morning:

“But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”-Matthew 10:33 

That verse may strike home really hard for some of us. But here is a verse that should encourage you:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”-2 Timothy 1:7

I pray that we can all walk out our faith in this world being courageous and bold like Paul did. That we use every opportunity given to us, whether it’s an ideal situation or not, to share the gospel of Christ to others. May our father in Heaven welcome us in by name, and tell us “Good job my good and faithful servant.” All glory and honor to our God in Heaven! Amen.  

-Moses Gaddi

Psalm_82

Scripture - What stood out?PSALM 82:1God has taken his place in the divine council;

    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: Observation - What does it say?Another psalm of Asaph. This fairly short psalm has one major theme: its cry for justice on behalf of those who are being oppressed by the wicked. Understanding - What does it mean?Initially when I read this psalm I glossed over the two lower case “gods” (NIV has the quote marks around it, I was reading ESV which does not) which appear in verse 1 and verse 6. When I read it again my slightly sarcastic mind-voice had taken over…”You guys think you are “gods”?...And I knew that didn’t sound like God the father! After reading several commentaries the majority interpretation was that God was referring to us(humans) as gods in the sense that we were very much like Him. In the second half of verse 6 He says, “...you are all sons of the Most High.” (sons I believe is understood to mean all genders in this case) I remember growing up whenever my father disciplined me as a child he would without fail tell me how hard it was for him to have to do this. That he loved me so much that wished he didn’t have to discipline me. I also remember my father repeatedly telling me how he prayed fervently that his sons would look just like him when we came out of the womb. And so as I read Psalm 82:1 again, I read it with the lens of a loving Father who really doesn’t want to have to discipline us. Because we remind Him of Him. God loves us of this I have no doubt. And it is out of his love he disciplines us. It is out of His righteousness that He applies His justice. And it is out of His grace that He grants mercy. Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today? I believe that God looks at us much like my father looked upon me. I can still see the love in his eyes as he would retell me the story of how much he wanted his sons to be like Him. I can still see the love in his eyes as he explained to me how much he disliked having to discipline me.  I believe when God judges “in the midst of gods” he is reminding us that we remind Him of Him, that he loves us, and that He does not enjoy having to discipline us. Today I choose to look in the mirror and say out loud “ I am an image bearer of God and God loves me.” I praise and worship you Lord! -kenneth lee