Psalm 106 - 2.18.22
Scripture - What stood out?
PSALM 106:44-46
Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
He caused them to be pitied
by all those who held them captive.
Observation - What does it say?
Psalm 106 is a retelling of the time Israel spent wandering the desert and then inhabiting the promised land. It is written in broader strokes to highlight the multiple moments throughout their history that the nation failed to honor and love God.
Understanding - What does it mean?
The word that the Holy Spirit highlighted to me this morning was “nevertheless” and “for their sake”. As I was reading 1 Samuel 9 in conjunction with today’s psalm I remembered how earlier in the bible God made it very clear to us that Israel had rejected Him as their leader when they decided they wanted an earthly king. We…rejected God as our leader…too many times to count in the bible! That feeling of ‘boy we sure got that one wrong’ never fully left me as I read the rest of the daily bible entries. (I say we a lot in reference to my identifying with the Israel nation who I have always viewed as a second Adam rather than just a nation)
Then I read the word nevertheless. It was as if I was listening to that one note in that one song timed perfectly that just pierces your heart every time. We wronged him so many times…nevertheless…for their sake….ln the old testament we read so much about God’s namesake for HIS sake that I overlook these moments.
God loves us. For our sake. God loves me. For my sake.
Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?
I’m not sure what a modern day crying out to God looks like, Lord. Please teach me.
Holy Spirit help me to cry out to God today. Just like we used to do way back when. But something okay to do in 2022. So that He may look upon me favorably, nevertheless - for my sake.
Psalm 105-2.17.22
Scripture
Psalms 105:3-5 NIV
“Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,”
Observation
There’s some good concepts given here that we should understand, along with some practical steps.
Understanding
This whole concept of rejoicing is something we’ve been going over with Pastor Levi; the concept of rejoicing always. Here we are given some specific things to rejoice about, specifically his wonders and things he’s done for us in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Along with telling us what we should rejoice about, he tells us we need to seek him always, both instructions being vital to how we grow and respond as followers of Christ to life and its challenges.
Life Application
Rejoicing and seeking his face isn’t always the easiest right? Especially when dealing with trials and difficult situations, but it’s the one thing that we should do constantly. For example, I’ve been going through a difficult time recently. It seems like the enemy is really throwing everything he has at me. It seems like it keeps snowballing and the problems are getting bigger and bigger and each time it escalates. I found myself calling up Levi and asking him what to do in my panic. Each time it happened, I was always met with the same thing: prayer and an incentive to pray for myself. Following what Levi told me to do, I took the time to really thank God for what he’s done and rejoice. Each time though, I wasn’t met with a life changing experience. It allowed me to live out 1 Peter 5:7. This is the important and practical side of this scripture. It’s something that we should implement in our daily lives.
-Anakin Cerda
Romans 5-2.16.22
Scripture
Romans 5:6
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Observation-What does it say?
This passage in Romans reminds me of another passage in Scripture that I love: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” -Ephesians 2:8-10
Understanding-What does it mean?
Nothing we do can make the Lord love us more (or less) than He already loved us when He decided to die for our sins. He chose to die before the creation/foundation of the world! (see Ephesians 1:4)
Life Application
God desires genuine relationship with us.
Just like Pastor Levi preached on Sunday, the Lord desires authentic relationship with us. Not the type of relationship where we only come to Him when we have our act together or the type of relationship that feels good after we have prayed/fasted for 40 days or the type of relationship only based on works/mission for Him. No! He demonstrated His love for us while we were still in our filth, so He is waiting for us with open arms right now!
The darkest time in my life was when I had stopped praying to the Lord 20 years ago. I’m so thankful to my mom and others who were interceding on my behalf during that time, but because of shame, instead of drawing closer to the Lord, I ran away from Him. God never leaves us. We are the ones who leave him, so I just want to encourage us all that whatever season in life we are in whether still struggling with a sin area, or sick in bed or grieving or even rejoicing, the Lord desires relationship. We cannot stop communicating with Him.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for loving us even before we had anything to offer You. I admit that sometimes I associate my identity with my works for You, but You have loved me with an everlasting love since the beginning of time and have chosen me as Your beloved child. For that, I am eternally grateful. May everything I do be as a result of my deep relationship with You and nothing more. Amen.
-Michelle Gaddi