Psalm 15 The Way

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken. (Psalm 15:1-5 NIV)

Observation: 

1. We are expected to inquire about the way to God's Holy Mountain.

- men are not entitled to go to heaven by their lineage, blood, or privileged.

- the enquiry is to God Himself

- Jesus is the Way. Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. (John 14:6)

2. Then we are directed how to walk in that way

- Be sincere in your devotion to God

- Be conscientiously honest and just in all your dealings

- Be faithful in all your relationships

- Strive to do good to all your neighbors, being tender to their reputation. 

- Value others based on virtue and not what they can give you or the face they put on for the rest of the world.

- Prefer a good conscious over anything else; do not increase your estate by unjust practices

3. We are assured of safety and happiness when walking in that way

- When we find the way through Jesus Christ and we walk in that way, we become like the Holy Mountain itself, unshakable. We will not be overcome by temptation, overwhelmed by trouble, and our peace will not be stolen. 

Application:

I can not walk in the Way without Jesus Christ. The more I fall in love with God more naturally I begin to walk in the Way. I can't help, however, but do a self examination on the list of character of those who walk in the Way. Although I struggle from time to time, I see a substantial difference of Jesus Christ in my life; for example, I see myself shaking less. This Holy Text also provides a second barometer for my heart, if I feel shaken (overwhelmed by trouble, overcome by temptation, my peace stolen) I can see if I am walking in the Way. If I am, I can be assured that this is just a moment and my foundation is sure, if I am not, I can come boldly before the throne of God and ask for both forgiveness and guidance. I know that He will gently guide me back into His light. 

Prayer:

Father, I want to always be where You are doing what You require of me. There is safety and peace in the shadow of Your wings. Please examine my heart, see if there is anything false in me and lead me in the everlasting way, for I am Yours and You are mine.

Psalm 11 A Struggle To Trust

In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face. (Psalm 11:1-7 NIV)

Observation: 
Supposedly written when David started feeling the resentment of Saul's envy; when Saul had thrown the javelin at him several times. He was told to flee by his friends, but said He would trust God. 
Verses 1-3 depicts how David views temptation and wrestles with it. David is tempted to not trust God and that temptation hurts him to the core. It is like arrows that pierce the heart and it threatens to destroy the very foundation of his relationship with God.
David answers that temptation and puts it into silence when considering who God is and His promises for the righteous and the wicked (verses 4-7). David doesn't just let his mind be lead by temptation but chooses to think on who God is and God's promises toward him and the wicked as well. 

Application: 
1. Resolve to make God your trust. It is our right as His children to make Him our hope and we should never be hesitant or ashamed to do so.
2. It's ok to express to God your resentment of the things that cause temptation to distrust Him.
3. Do not flee when times are tough, to flee is to question the very foundation of Christianity. Once you flee you will continue to be shaken until you come back and stand firm in the Lord.
4. Temptation to distrust God is an opportunity to trust Him more than you ever have before; an opportunity to go deeper in Him.
- Consider God in heaven, what does that mean? He is out of our sight but we are not out of His. 
- God governs the earth, He is sovereign and in control. God is great!
- God knows every mans true character and judges accordingly. We know what men seem to be, but He knows who they really are.
- If the righteous are afflicted it is ultimately for their good.
5. Pray for those who persecute you. The wicked may succeed for awhile, but they will be crushed under the wrath of God. Pray for mercy over them. God loves His children and will severely reckon with those who hurt them.

Prayer
You are my trust Lord. You hold me always and I lift my eyes to Your holy hill and praise You! You hear my cries and you answer me in my distress. There is no one like You, faithful with everlasting lovingkindness. 

Psalm 8 How Great Thou Art

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority— the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! (Psalms 8:1-9 NLT)

Observation 

Written about how God used David to kill Goliath.

4 Components of praise in this Psalm

1. Making known Himself and His great name to us

2. Making use of the weakest of children and men to serve His own purposes.

3. For making even the angels useful to men

4. For making man to have dominion over the lower creatures of the earth.

- This psalm is also applied to Christ and His redemptive work in the New Testament.

- When we are observing God's glory in nature, we should also observe God's glory in the Kingdom of grace.

- God is infinitely more glorious than any creature here on earth.

- God proclaims His glory most powerfully by the weakest of creatures.

- David recounts the honor God has put on man, a great way to bring forth praise.

- We are to gaze upon the heavens, our affections should be directed to the heavens above. 

- David wrote this psalm at night gazing upon the stars.

Application and Prayer

How Great Thou Art, that is the song that comes to mind with You O Lord. It is pretty amazing to think about all that You created, and then try to correspond that to a personal relationship with You. What can I compare it to? Knowing the President? No, if the 

President of the United States was always accessible to me, always coming to my rescue, knew the number of hairs on my head, provided for me in every way, even then it wouldn't come close to what it is like for the God of the Universe to choose a relationship with me. You have chosen to be close to my mess and help clean it up; clean me up. 

How can I understand it? Most of the time I treat You as an earthly Father, Best Friend, and Husband all wrapped up in one. This communicates Your love for me, but not Your greatness. To combine Sovereignty and unconditional Love together, I can't begin to attain it.  This, however, does not take away the truth of who You are. 

I see this morning how small my thinking is of You, how irreverent my worship is, yet I'm undone with how You Choose to use and Love me anyway. Although I may not ever be able to attain it, I want to spend the rest of my life trying to understand just How Great Thou Art.

Hebrews 6:4-6 Losing Your Salvation

For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6 NLT)

Observation:

The writer of Hebrews is addressing the Jews who have never accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. They have heard the gospel, seen the miracles, and have attended "church" and even said all the right things, but they have never humbled themselves and allowed God to flood them with His grace.

It is argued that the writer is talking about losing your salvation. However, I believe that verse 17 of chapter 6 refutes that theory. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. (Hebrews 6:17 NLT).

God can not be unfaithful and He can not break His promises. Once you have received salvation, it is impossible to lose it. So if it is easy to walk away from Christ or to just cheer in the stands but never be obedient to what He is asking you to do, the question that should be asked is if you are truly saved at all. A relationship with Christ was never meant to be a superficial encounter, it was and is meant to be life changing from the inside out and once Christ begins that inside work He promises to complete it (Philippians 1:6). And nothing can break that promise...thank You Jesus!

Application:

Although there were definitely verses I could SOAP on before these verses, when I read these specific verses my heart lept. When I first started to pursue my relationship with Christ, my life went to hell. Both rejection and unjust persecution lead me on a path to hopelessness that eventually lead to a desire a to kill myself. At the moment where I was ready to give up on me, I also shook my fist at God and told Him that I was giving up on Him as well. But God remained faithful to hold me, even though I had let go of Him. I gained a deep understanding through that experience that I was saved by grace and not my own performance. 

Nevertheless, I have been questioned on the legitimacy of my salvation because I shook my fist at God and told Him that I was done with Him. Through this scripture, I now understand that it was through that moment that I actually received salvation. I had gotten to the end of myself, I could clearly see myself in the crowd yelling crucify, no better than the Jews that had gone before me. And like the Jews, Jesus said "forgive her for she knows not what she does". Ah the blessedness of grace. 

Prayer:

Father, thank You for saving me. I had learned how to perform well and it was a pretty big task set before You to humble me and help me understand my desperate need for grace. That time in my life was the most difficult and hopeless, but looking back at it now, I see Your faithfulness and it is gives a great sense of hope for the future. This hope is an anchor for my soul. I love You!

Hebrews 4:15-16 Our High Priest

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Observation:

Jesus, Son of God, is our high priest. Before we can embrace this role, we have to first understand the position of high priest. A high priest is someone who according to Hebrew order was in charge of tabernacle worship. They had to be direct descendent from the line of Aaron. A high priest usually served in that position for life and there was a special degree of holiness required for this position. This holiness meant that the high priest had to avoid defilement, like contact with the dead, which includes showing no sign of mourning, he also could not leave sanctuary precincts.  If the high priest sinned, he bought sin upon all of the Hebrew people. And only the high priest was able to enter the holy of holies on the day of atonement (Holman bible dictionary).

This high priest  position gradually became corrupted over the years and we desperately needed someone to intervene on our behalf. Jesus not only fulfills the role of high priest according to Hebrew custom, He makes a way for us to enter the Holy of Holies ourselves. It is through His atonement for our sin that we can come boldly before the throne of God. 

Application:

I've heard Jesus called high priest for years, but never really understood the meaning behind this label. There are so many facets to who Christ is, but this is one we just can't skip over. We have a Priest who is sinless, but became defiled so that I could be made clean. He was safe in heaven, in communion with the Father and Holy Spirit, but He became an outcast for me. 

I'm also in awe that the high priest is in charge of tabernacle worship. That means Jesus is in charge of our worship. I always surrender worship leading to Him, but it has an even deeper meaning knowing that it is His charge to begin with.

Prayer:

Thank You Lord for being my High Priest. Thank You for the atonement You made for me. Thank You for the mercy and grace that You give so freely. I love You.

A Paradox By Father Ted Hochstatter

The paradox of our times is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.  We buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more advanced degrees, but less common sense; more knowledge, but less good judgment; more medicine, but less wellness.  We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.  We have higher incomes, but lower morals.  We have been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.  We've conquered outer space, but inner space is still a mystery to too many of us.  We have cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; split the atom, but not our prejudices.  We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often.  These are the times of steep profits and shallow relationships; world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; two incomes, and more divorce.  It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring a letter to you in seconds, and you can choose either to make a difference or just hit "delete."

Hebrews 4:12-13 The Word of God

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12, 13 NIV)

Observation:

The Word of God is LIVING. Meaning that It is not some dead ancient literature, It is still the relevant and applicable. 

The Word of God is ACTIVE, which means it is effective in carrying out God's intention. "The same word that at creation set the elements of the cosmos to their appointed tasks and still governs the universe toward God’s desired intentions, has the ability to effect change in people. It is not static and passive but dynamic, interactive, and transforming as it interfaces with the people of God" (NIV Commentary).

The Word of God is compared to a double-edged sword; a sword with two sharp sides. This means that the Word of God can have favorable and unfavorable consequences. God's Word is a Word of promise for those entering into His rest as well as a discerning Word of judgement. 

The Word of God is able to PENETRATE and DIVIDE.  God's Word is able to reach into the depth of human soul and transform. His Word is able to sift out the unnecessary junk, while intentionally using other parts of our character flaws to keep us dependent upon Him and to glorify His great name. His Word is able to see and minister to the places of our hearts that we ourselves cannot see. It is able to break past surface religion and inner spirituality and makes It's goal the changing of our hearts and not our behavior. 

We are laid bare before Him always, spiritually naked and vulnerable. Because of who He is, we are not consumed, we are healed  and made new.

Application:

I'm so grateful that God can see all of me, especially the ugly parts. He does not condemn me because of my sin, but instead covers my holes with His righteousness. I would be walking around oblivious to the destruction I was sowing, if not for God's revelation over my life. Coming to Him vulnerable and trusting His steady hand has not been easy. There are times He has hemmed me in so that I didn't run away from the painful heart surgery that was about to happen. However, being laid bare before Him has always brought about great healing and transformation in my life. I absolutely need His Word.

Prayer:

Praise You Lord for Your Word and for It's life changing affect on my life. Your Word was made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and now I am saved by His righteousness. Please continue to keep me vulnerable before You, trusting You to heal what needs to be healed and cleansing what needs to be cleansed. I love You Lord.