Psalm 27 - 10.7.26
Scripture: Psalm 27:13-14
“I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.”
Observation
Over and over in the Psalms, we see David wrestle with his faith. But over and over his faith is strengthened by focusing on God’s goodness, strength, and great love.
Application
When we have relationship with Jesus, we can look forward to an eternity spent with him. But like David, I am confident that I will also see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. We are surrounded by God’s goodness in good times, and we are still surrounded by God’s goodness in hard times.
In the good times, it is easy to become complacent and forget that all we have is due to God’s goodness. And in the hard times, it is so easy to focus on our circumstances and forget about God’s goodness.
Do we truly believe that God is good all the time?
Jesus modeled focusing our minds and hearts on God first in the Lord’s Prayer. It starts with adoration and honor – to focus on who He is – and then on submitting to Him, putting our trust in Him.
“To "wait for the Lord" is not passive inactivity; it is an active, eager posture of trust in God’s ultimate control and faithfulness.” Got Questions.org
Prayer
God, your goodness is everywhere, all the time, if only I will choose to see it. Forgive me for the times I become complacent and don’t give you the honor you are due. And when the hard times come, help me to put my trust in you, to submit to your will, and to remember that your goodness prevails, regardless of my circumstances. Thank you for your love and faithfulness. Thank you that you are good all the time! Amen
- Debbie Dunn
Psalm 26 - 10.6.26
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 26:1 - 12
Vindicate me, Lord,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the Lord
and have not faltered.
Test me, Lord, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love
and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.
I do not sit with the deceitful,
nor do I associate with hypocrites.
I abhor the assembly of evildoers
and refuse to sit with the wicked.
I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about your altar, Lord,
proclaiming aloud your praise
and telling of all your wonderful deeds.
Lord, I love the house where you live,
the place where your glory dwells.
Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with those who are bloodthirsty,
in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
I lead a blameless life;
deliver me and be merciful to me.
My feet stand on level ground;
in the great congregation I will praise the Lord.
OBSERVATION
In this passage, we see David having a heart-to-heart with God. As David is facing his enemies, he is asking God to examine him by his deeds and to search him for any wrong doing. David is also having a moment of self reflection not only from his deeds but his love and adoration for God. Many scholars believe that this psalm was written before the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah since David is declaring his innocence and blameless life. Lastly, David praises God and understands that God is his Deliverer and the One who can bring him mercy from the threats of his enemies.
APPLICATION
It Is important that we as believers should have moments of self reflection on a regular basis while we are praying and talking to God. Although good behavior does not guarantee good times, I believe that God wants us to come to Him for our concerns and issues. In 1 Peter 5:7 it says to “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” We can come to Christ with our trials and completely give it to Him. We can also praise Him in the midst of our trials such as David did.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank You for being our Deliverer. I ask You to examine my heart and reveal where I have fallen short and where I am weak. I know that the enemy is relentless with his attacks. I pray that I can discern if I am facing an attack from the enemy or pruning from You. As You said in John 10:10 that the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I know that You can use those moments to build us up in faith as mentioned in James 1:2-4. Help me to remember to come to You in every situation whether it be for the good times and bad, and help me to praise You in every situation whether it be during the good times and bad times such as David. Amen
- Darrence Hamilon
1 Corinthians 9 - 10.5.26
Scripture
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”
Observation
Paul is talking about how he operates in the mission field of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ! He needed to know the people’s language and customs before he could reach them. In order to have a voice and operate within their world, he needed to know how to become like one of them. (Being a former Pharisee and persecutor of Christians, he already had a leg up.)
I thought it was interesting how he even said that he became like someone under the law and like someone not having the law. He will do whatever he needs to do to win people to the faith, without compromising or becoming like the world. He knew how to live IN the world, but not OF the world.
The Apostle Paul knew that reaching a lost world meant that even though he was called to be set apart, he also had to be educated about how they dressed, spoke and lived their everyday lives.
Application
In order to reach people for the Gospel, we need to infiltrate the culture.
When I first became a Christ follower, I thought I had to quit everything that I had a passion for, such as the arts (music and dance), sports, movies, etc. and only have Christian friends with an ultimate calling of working in a church setting. I also started dressing extremely conservative. I’m all for modesty, but it was to an extreme.
However, as I was taking myself out of the world, I was also losing influence with those IN the world because I appeared too “holier than thou.” I was separating myself way too much from the lost people God had called me to reach.
When I was in college and talking to some students who were getting reading to go into the mission field, they told me that they spent months prepping (before heading there), by learning the language, culture and customs of the people who they were about to preach the Gospel too.
Also, in some areas that didn’t allow Christian missionaries, they would have to learn another trade (like being an engineer or school teacher), in order to get a foot in the door of that country.
Even when I studied children’s ministry (before having kids), my professor would tell us to find out the types of cartoons that the kids were watching and study what they were interested in so that I could begin to connect with them.
As I look at the life of Jesus, He spent time teaching in the Temple, but He also spent A LOT of time outside with “sinners” and in the world.
We must be interested and ask more questions to people who are different than ourselves. We cannot reach a lost generation if we are unwilling to learn and be surrounded by unbelievers. As the Bible says, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” -1 Corinthians 13:1 NIV
What would draw people to listen to my testimony and the Good News I have to share about Jesus? Why would they care if I don’t even care about their story?
We must meet people where they are at, just like Jesus met us where we were at.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank You for reminding me that in order for my light to shine brightly for You, I need to be willing to be in dark places, where the people who need You are. You say that it is the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy. You have brought me through so much in my life and it’s easy for me to forget that that’s NOT the end goal. Please forgive me. Please reveal to me the everyday places where Your light can shine most brightly for Your Kingdom. Amen.
-Michelle Gaddi