Psalm

Extol HIS Name

/ The Pastor / Leave a comment

Psalm 145:1-3 ESV
[1] I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. [2] Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. [3] Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

Worship trumps any pain or anger, disappointment or frustration. No matter the situation, worship turns one’s heart to the One who is greater than any disappointment or frustration, pain or anger. But what if I do not feel like worshiping? Then do it any way. Satan would love nothing more than for you to turn away from God. Satan wants you to extol what he is doing to you. He wants you to remember and ruminate on the pain your feeling. He wants you to dwell in disappointment, frustration, anger, and despair. In short, Satan want you to worship him. But do not give in.

Extol GOD’S name instead. And when you do, truly looking at and dwelling with the Father, that which Satan is trying to hold you captive will become weaker and lose its power over you. Begin by recalling what God has done for you right now. You opened your eyes this morning. That is a gift from the Father. You took a breath. That is a gift from the Father. Jesus has died for the forgiveness of your sins. That is a gift from the Father. And you get my point.

Extol GOD’S name and His name alone, for HE is a great Lord, and HIS greatness is unsearchable.

Friday devotions ~ Psalm 41

/ The Pastor

This is the final Psalm in what is called Book 1. And again we have an individual lament, but it takes on a little different flavor. Verses 1 – 3 talk about the blessedness of serving the poor, and it appears the psalmist has done that, yet he is suffering in some way due to his sin. Enemies see his plight and “utter empty words” (vs 6), whispering among themselves and imagining the worst for him (vs 7). In verses 8 – 10, his enemies have all kinds of theories about why this is happening to him, but the psalmist still delights in the Lord. What an incredible faith.

But there are a couple things that ring loud in this Psalm. First, no amount of good works will cover your sin. You can be the greatest saint in the world, doing all kinds of good works (like helping the poor) but even that will not excuse one little sin. It is only by the mercy of God, His grace through faith in Jesus Christ, that forgives sin. I sometimes forget that and say things like, “Well, I preach and teach God’s Word to people. That has to count for something.” Well, it does not when it comes to sin. Once again, it is all grace.

And secondly, what others say about you is not what defines you. What defines you is what God says about you. Let your enemies say all they want about your life. You show them who has your life by how you live and respond to adversity. If you know Jesus then you know the truth and the Truth. Do not let outsiders decide your truth. YOU tell them the truth and be at peace about whose you are.

12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. 
13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! 
Amen and Amen.

LET US PRAY: I praise You, O God, for Your awesome grace and mercy, and I confess that I sometimes try to take matters into my own hands. Remind me of the truth and convict my heart. May Jesus ever be before me as a witness to others. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Psalm 23 Haiku

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

The psalmist beautifully depicts the life of sheep, and I can relate. I am a sheep going through a dark valley, with Satan working overtime, but I’m not alone. Two very close prayer warriors/friends reminded me of that truth recently.

Sheep in a valley.
A wolf’s hungry eyes craving.
Smack! The Shepherd’s staff.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
[Psalm 23:1‭-‬6 ESV]

Praise Befitting

/ The Pastor

Praise the Lord ! Praise the Lord , O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
[Psalms 146:1‭-‬2 ESV]

Praise is befitting You for You are glorious.
Your beauty is beyond words,
for when I gaze at Your creation I stand in silent awe.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg,
for to see Your full glory and beauty would short-circuit my brain;
not to mention that as a sinner I can’t see You face to face and live.
Your beauty is beyond words,
and,
Your holiness is perfect.
And thus as a sin-stained creature I am nothing in Your sight.
But You, Oh Lord my God, are full of
Mercy
Grace
Compassion
Forgiveness
Yes, praise is befitting You for You do not give to me as I deserve.
But You gave me Jesus.
Oh wow, You gave me Jesus.
Your beauty is beyond words.
Your holiness is perfect.
and Your love is amazing.
Yes, Lord, Your love; for You are love.
Ohhhh,
I am at a lose for words as I meditate on You.
May even my groanings and sighings be praise befitting You.
Praise to You, oh Lord!
Praise to You!

Psalm of Discernment

/ The Pastor

Oh Lord, Your voice seems so far from me,
Your voice seems so distant.
The sound of Your voice is so very quiet,
Their words are lost on me.
I strain my ears to hear You,
I lean in to catch Your voice.
Oh Lord, why can’t I hear?
Why is the air so silent?
But I know You are not far,
For You are closer to me than I am to myself.
I know Your voice is not weak,
For Your created with a powerful word.
I know that You won’t leave me hanging,
For Your will, will be done.
Oh Lord, the silence is deafening,
it is loud in my ears,
but to You I cling,
and therefore I find my peace.
I know You will speak to me,
In You I place my trust.
To You be the glory,
forever and ever.
To You be everlasting praise.
Oh Lord, I will wait for Your voice.

Is It Right to Praise the Lord?

/ The Pastor

This “Psalm” was inspired by Psalms 146-150; Psalms with the bookends “Praise the Lord“.

Is it right to praise the Lord?
Oh let me think…
He is awesome and mighty
Gracious and merciful
Faithful and just
Powerful and gentle
Father
Shepherd
Creator
He has made the heavens and the earth.
He breathed the breath of life into all living creatures.
He perfectly made everything
We sinned
But He vowed reconciliation and restoration through crushing Satan.
And He followed through on His promises.
He sent Jesus
Jesus lived and loved and healed and forgave
Jesus suffered and died and was buried
Jesus rose victorious
Jesus reigns
Sins are forgiven
Death and Satan and tears are no more.
Joy and peace and Life forevermore.
Oh sinner, is it right to praise the Lord?
Yes
YES!
Praise the Lord!

A Psalm for the Morning

/ The Pastor

Oh Lord, You are my strength and my song,
You are my salvation.
You cause me to rise in the morning,
and gently lie my head down in the evening;
keeping me throughout the night.
You are my guard on all sides;
defeating those that would oppose You.
Keep me, oh Lord, from straying from You.
Keep me from despair.
Keep me from straying from Your ways.
May I be faithful and obedient.
May I be true and right.
May I know the way You have ordained for my life.
Oh Lord, on my own I am lost.
Lead me, guide me, direct me.
I want to know Your ways.
Oh Lord, You are my strength and my song,
never do I want to leave Your side.
Keep me, this day, and always,
that I may proclaim Your holy name;
that Your glory may shine.

To Begin My Day…

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

To You, oh Lord,
I place my trust.
To You, oh Lord,
I cast my eyes.
Hold me tight in the midst of the storm;
In the midst of enemies who claim victory.
Wield Your sword to defend me;
Your mighty arm is powerful.
Hedge me in on all sides;
Oh Lord, You are my fortress.
May I not fall into despair;
May I always see You.
To You, oh Lord,
I place my trust.
To You, oh Lord,
I give my praise.

The Pastor -|—

Make music to the Lord

/ The Pastor

Psalm 92:1-5
It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2     to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3     to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
4     For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
5     How great are your works, O Lord,
how profound your thoughts!

Today I am heading to LifeLight; a Christian music festival in Worthing, SD (south of Sioux Falls).  It is the largest FREE, outdoor, Christian music festival in the country.  There is 100+ bands and 6 stages.  And did I mention that it is FREE?

Lot’s of great music.
Lot’s of great food.
Lot’s of great worship.

I look forward to this event every year (always Labor Day weekend).  We set up camp in front of the main stage and sit there all day.  Today (Saturday) and Sunday will be spent there (with a trip back to Jackson for Sunday morning worship).   And considering that the fall season is upon us; Wednesday Night Live, Release time and confirmation starting soon, this festival is always a great way to kick off a new program year. It seems to jump start things for me.

So as I was reading my Bible today I came across Psalm  92 which spoke about my excitement of this weekend.   But these verses are not just about the upcoming weekend, but about our lives.

Our God is an awesome God and worthy of praise and worship.

Worship is not a duty.
Worship is not something to cross off your list.
Worship is not something you HAVE to do.

Worship should be your JOY; something you GET to do ~ not something that just happens on Sunday, but part of the other 6 days of your week.

So remember to take some time and make some music unto the Lord.  Or in my case…I will make a joyful noise 🙂

Either way ~ PRAISE BE TO GOD!

-edh -|—

Monday morning check in

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

Greetings on this lovely Monday morning!

Finally…
After long last I finally got my yard done.  I have been staring at my long grass and abundant leaves for a couple weeks now wondering when I was going to get some nice weather and time to clean up my yard.  I never seemed to get those two parts of the equation at the same time.  Well…Sunday was a beautiful day and I barely had enough time.  I borrowed a riding lawn mower with a bagger and finished the yard.  I looks great and I feel much better.  The problem is I think I cut my grass way too short.  That could be a problem later.  Oh well…my yard looks nice so I am going to enjoy it for the time being.

A visit
I had one of those nice visits yesterday.  While I was on the lawn mower I saw someone pulling into the church parking lot…obviously looking for me.  I stopped to chat.  It turned out that he just wanted to explain to me why he hasn’t been in church the last few weeks.  It turned out to be medical reasons.  He is doing fine but it got me thinking:  I wish more people felt this sense of duty to be in worship; not because they HAD to be there, but because they wanted to be there to praise God.  Also:  I wish more people felt this calling to talk to people who have been absent and check in with them, "We’ve missed you in worship recently".  Wouldn’t that be nice?

Disturbing movie
I am usually not one to pass on email forwards or pay much attention to them, but I thought this was worthy to pass on to you.  There is a movie coming out that everyone needs to be aware of, especially if you work with children or care about children at all.  The movie is called The Golden Compass.  This movie is based on a series of children’s books with anti-religious themes.  Actually, the author talks about killing God.  The worry is that children will enjoy the movie so much that they will want to read the book series.  Please follow the above link to learn more so we can collectively protect our children.  This is indeed very disturbing.

Web site
Thank you for the comments I received for the new web site we are working on for Salem (www.salemjackson.org).  The site is still a work in progress but it is coming along quite nicely.  If you think of any other suggestions please let me know.  As a visitor what information would you like to see.  What needs to be improved or communicated more effectively?

Personal stewardship update
I finally reached the 20 pound mark in my weight loss.  I had been stuck at 17 to 18 pounds for a while.  I still have another 10 pounds to go to reach my first goal.  I hope to reach that by the end of the year, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, that might be difficult.

Thank you (as always) for stopping by.  God bless you today and everyday as you live out the promises given to you in baptism.

-edh-

"…weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning…" (Psalm 30)