Joy to the world! The Lord is come Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room And heaven and nature sing And heaven and nature sing And heaven, and heaven and nature sing…
Did you know…
From this psalm Isaac Watts found the inspiration for his popular hymn “Joy to the World,” often classified as a Christmas carol but more accurately identified as a “kingdom hymn.” Watts described Christ’s second advent and not His first, the messianic kingdom and not the manger.
Jesus, Son of God, was sent down to earth the first time with the mission to seek and to save the lost. He began with God’s chosen then extended salvation for sins to the whole world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“In the beginning God” …Words from God’s lips created the world in which we live. All came into being merely by the spoken words from God’s lips. “And it was good.” This was God’s own affirmation of the work well done. His first created humans, however, turned their eyes from God, easily distracted, to evil’s attention and intention to destroy their relationship with their Creator. Because God wants our undivided love, Adam and Eve were separated from God. Mankind was then separated from God. But God never left his people. God gave humanity a sacrificial system to atone for their sins. But that system became corrupt by humans. God’s extreme love brought His ultimate Plan to set the world right. That Plan was Jesus, His Son.
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let all their songs employ while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy…
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”, begins John the gospel writer about Jesus. Jesus, who stood with God at the beginning of Creation, was sent down to earth to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin. No one but Jesus, God’s Son, could do this. Jesus came to earth, said and did only what His Father in heaven told him to say and do and completed the mission perfectly. We are saved and redeemed from all our sins because of Jesus’s work on the cross of dying and rising from defeated death to life. Jesus went back to heaven after appearing to His beloved to prepare a place for all who believe and follow Him forevermore.
No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far as, far as the curse is found…
Ah, Jesus is coming back a second and final time to complete God’s Plan to set things right. Jesus, alpha and omega, beginning and end, will come to claim His own and take all who believe to the kingdom home He has prepared for us! There Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords will rule forever and ever, Amen!
“He’ll straighten out the whole world, He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.”
He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love.
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 98, The Message
Sing to God a brand-new song. He’s made a world of wonders!
He rolled up his sleeves, He set things right.
2 God made history with salvation, He showed the world what he could do.
3 He remembered to love us, a bonus To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.
The whole earth comes to attention. Look—God’s work of salvation!
4 Shout your praises to God, everybody! Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!
5 Round up an orchestra to play for God, Add on a hundred-voice choir.
6 Feature trumpets and big trombones, Fill the air with praises to King God.
7 Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, With everything living on earth joining in.
8 Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!” And mountains harmonize the finale—
9 A tribute to God when he comes, When he comes to set the earth right.
He’ll straighten out the whole world, He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.
TRUTH: He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.
Proverb 28:13-14, The Message
You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.
14 A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life; a hardhearted person lives a hard life.
WISDOM: Repent and be saved. Jesus did all the heavy lifting for you.
Abba Father,
Thank you for saving my soul and making things right between you and me. Thank you for paying the debts of my sins in full, never to be remembered or visited again! Thank you for laying down your life for mine! Thank you for loving me the way you do. Thank you for loving the world they way you do. Help me to love like you love each day of my life.
In Jesus Name, Amen
Joy to the world, the Lord has come! And He’s coming back again! Be ready!
We are constantly begging God to set everything right, to fix our problems and bring peace to our world. We ask for His glory to be seen then get distracted by everything but God. We sing to God for our needs to be met, our sad little souls to be fed and our hearts to be filled with happiness. We pray for emotional well-being, financial security and more stuff while living our own way in a world that only wants to take it all away. We are a mess. But God still loves us. In fact,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
God has already done it! He has already set things right! Jesus, His One and Only, came down from heaven to seek and to save the lost who were living their lives without Him. Jesus came and moved into the neighborhood of mankind to show us God, His ways and His love. Jesus, the ultimate, perfect sacrifice, came to pay the debt of the sins of the world. God set things right in this world by sending Jesus.
“God rules”, the Psalmist shouts in praise to the One and Only! Everyone who worship gods, handcrafted by human hands, the “ragamuffin” material, political, and social things of this earth will be sorry when they see the King of kings and Lord of lords come back for his own!
What or Who has all our attention? That’s what or who we worship!
“For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Romans 14:11 ESV
“So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11
“By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’” Isaiah 45:23
Yes, and Amen! God planned Jesus’ arrival from the beginning of creation, knowing we would need a Savior and Redeemer. God set people right with Him to all who believe in Jesus. Jesus, the foretold and fulfilled promise of God, came to set the world right! Look, see, trust, believe and be saved! Then, Celebrate! Jesus IS coming back, you know…
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 97, The Message
God rules: there’s something to shout over! On the double, mainlands and islands—celebrate!
2 Bright clouds and storm clouds circle ’round him; Right and justice anchor his rule.
3 Fire blazes out before him, Flaming high up the craggy mountains.
4 His lightnings light up the world; Earth, wide-eyed, trembles in fear.
5 The mountains take one look at God And melt, melt like wax before earth’s Lord.
6 The heavens announce that he’ll set everything right, And everyone will see it happen—glorious!
7-8 All who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry— And they were so proud of their ragamuffin gods!
On your knees, all you gods—worship him! And Zion, you listen and take heart!
Daughters of Zion, sing your hearts out: God has done it all, has set everything right.
9 You, God, are High God of the cosmos, Far, far higher than any of the gods.
10 God loves all who hate evil, And those who love him he keeps safe, Snatches them from the grip of the wicked.
11 Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people, Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil.
12 So, God’s people, shout praise to God, Give thanks to our Holy God!
TRUTH: God has set everything under heaven right! “The heavens announce that he’ll set everything right, And everyone will see it happen—glorious!” Jesus is His Name.
Proverbs 28:1-5, The Message
The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one’s after them; Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions.
2 When the country is in chaos, everybody has a plan to fix it— But it takes a leader of real understanding to straighten things out.
3 The wicked who oppress the poor are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.
4 If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity; if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.
5 Justice makes no sense to the evilminded; those who seek God know it inside and out.
WISDOM: Seek God. Read His instructions. Ask for understanding. Then follow God, no matter what, follow God and no one else.
Abba Father,
Oh Lord, how our attentions are easily drawn to mindless idols of destructive thoughts and behaviors! Pull all our attention to back to You. You have already set the world right by sending Jesus. Help us to realize that again. Thank you, Jesus for offering your life for ours and following through with God’s Plan of redeeming my soul. Thank you, Father for our intimate relationship because of the completion of your plan of setting things right with You.
Thank you for Your Holy Presence in the lives of all who believe and are committed to You. Thank you for protection and provisions enough to share, but most of all thank you for saving my soul and teaching me your law. I worship you alone, for you alone are worthy of all my attention. Keep us focused on you so we will see your glory at work daily. You are my One and Only God, my hope. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me
Pause to pray. Rise to worship God! Let us jump into this psalm with abandon, leaving the world and worldly philosophies in the dust. Let us be cleansed in the pool of pure, living waters that wash over our hearts, minds and souls! Everyone sing God’s praises like never before. Forget for a moment what is going in our world and just step back to raise a hallelujah to our God who knows all, created all and is in all! For it is in our praise and worship of God alone that He turns what we give to Him back to us with extreme love and encouragement!
But first, God.
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 96, The Message
1-2 Sing God a brand-new song! Earth and everyone in it, sing! Sing to God—worship God!
2-3 Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea, Take the news of his glory to the lost, News of his wonders to one and all!
4-5 For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs. His furious beauty puts the other gods to shame; Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags.
5-6 God made the heavens— Royal splendor radiates from him, A powerful beauty sets him apart.
7 Bravo, God, Bravo! Everyone join in the great shout: Encore! In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.
8-9 Bring gifts and celebrate, Bow before the beauty of God, Then to your knees—everyone worship!
10 Get out the message—God Rules! He put the world on a firm foundation; He treats everyone fair and square.
11 Let’s hear it from Sky, With Earth joining in, And a huge round of applause from Sea.
12 Let Wilderness turn cartwheels, Animals, come dance, Put every tree of the forest in the choir—
13 An extravaganza before God as he comes, As he comes to set everything right on earth, Set everything right, treat everyone fair.
TRUTH: God sets and resets everything right on earth. God resets our hearts, minds and souls in the process.
Proverb 28:18, The Message
WISDOM: “Walk straight—live well and be saved; a devious life is a doomed life.” God first in all of life. God always. Be still and know God.
Abba Father,
We raise a hallelujah to you alone this morning! We thank you for all you have done, are doing and will do in each of our lives who believe, trust and obey You. We thank you for saving our souls. We thank you for loving us they way you do. We thank you for listening to our prayers of concern. We praise you for accepting us where we are and then growing us to be all you created us to be and do. Thank you, Lord. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Set everything right. Begin with me.
In Jesus Name, Amen
I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me
I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar Up from the ashes, hope will arise Death is defeated, the King is alive!
I raise a hallelujah, with everything inside of me I raise a hallelujah, I will watch the darkness flee I raise a hallelujah, in the middle of the mystery I raise a hallelujah, fear you lost your hold on me!
Look all around you. Seriously, look around you. What do you see? Look at what you have acquired. Look at what you cherish most. Look at your family who was given to you to share life with for a while on earth.
Now, imagine being outside. What do you see in your own backyard? What do you see on your way to work each day? Close your eyes. Imagine standing on a tall mountain peak. What do you see? Close your eyes again. Imagine being on an island with the beautiful ocean lapping at your toes as the waves push your feet deeper into the warm sand.
Does any of this really belong to us? The answer is no. God owns it all.
The Psalmist reminds us that God owns all we see around us. We are merely managers (good or bad) of what He has provided for us. So, do not provoke God! It will not go well for us. Trust God, LISTEN to hear His voice above the noisy din of evil provoked crowds who want their own way. Walk in God’s way. How do we know God’s way? His Word tells us all we need to know. His Holy Spirit helps us to understand and stay focused on His Road to follow. It’s up to us. We get to choose. We must choose wisely.
Come, let us worship the One who owns it all!
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 95, The Message
1-2 Come, let’s shout praises to God, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let’s march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns!
3-5 And why? Because God is the best, High King over all the gods. In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns, in the other hand grasps the high mountains. He made Ocean—he owns it! His hands sculpted Earth!
6-7 So come, let us worship: bow before him, on your knees before God, who made us! Oh yes, he’s our God, and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.
7-11 Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks: “Don’t turn a deaf ear as in the Bitter Uprising, As on the day of the Wilderness Test, when your ancestors turned and put me to the test. For forty years they watched me at work among them, as over and over they tried my patience. And I was provoked—oh, was I provoked! ‘Can’t they keep their minds on God for five minutes? Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?’ Exasperated, I exploded, ‘They’ll never get where they’re headed, never be able to sit down and rest.’”
TRUTH: God owns it all because He created all and is in all. Remember this truth. Worship the One and Only who owns it all.
Proverb 28:9-10, The Message
God has no use for the prayers of the people who won’t listen to him.
10 Lead good people down a wrong path and you’ll come to a bad end; do good and you’ll be rewarded for it.
WISDOM: Listen to God. Follow His Path. God will not disappoint.
Abba Father,
We cry out today for your wisdom, insight and understanding. Leaning only to what the crowds shout is not working for anyone. Leaning into what is said by leaders of all kinds is not reliable. Only what you say, Lord is truth and be counted on for life. So, open our eyes to Truth. Open our ears to hear Your Voice above all others. I am humbly repentant and wholly committed to what you want. Show us The Way down Your Road. Teach us as we walk together today and forever.
In Jesus Name, Amen
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Lord, help us to gain a more righteous perspective, your way of thinking, so that we might not sin in our unknowingness, arrogance and pride caused by only thinking and leaning to our own understanding of life. In Jesus Name, Amen
Few problems in this world cause God’s people to question His rule more than, “Why do the helpless and the godly suffer and the wicked get away with their crimes?” When it comes to dealing with the injustices in society, this psalm teaches us that the righteous have four responsibilities.
PRAY FOR JUSTICE
God’s requirement for His people is that we “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) for the Lord loves justice and hears the prayers of those who have been treated unjustly. Did you get that? God hears! God cares!
The word vengeance is often misinterpreted to mean “revenge” or “being vindictive,” as though God were having a temper tantrum, but “to avenge” means to uphold the law and give justice to those who have been wronged. Since the Lord is omniscient, He is able to judge motives as well as actions and deal with situations and people justly. God is the only judge, the perfect and right judge who will bring justice.
We want the Lord to act immediately, but He is gracious and longsuffering and we must walk by faith (Luke 18:1-8). The wicked convince themselves that God does not see their evil deeds, but He does!
WARN THE WICKED
After praying to the Lord, we must confront the wicked with the truth, as the Lord gives us opportunity. But the battle belongs to the Lord God. Does God the creator of ears and eyes not hear and see? What a question! What shallow thinking! The subversive plans and plots of these evil leaders cannot be hidden from the Lord, nor will they go unpunished. Paul quoted this verse in 1 Corinthians 3:20 to warn church leaders in Corinth not to try to guide the church using the world’s wisdom, but to rely only on the wisdom of God found in Scripture.
ACCEPT GOD’S DISCIPLINE
The psalmist recognized the fact that the difficulties of life could help him mature in his faith. If God immediately rescued His people from their personal difficulties, they would become spoiled brats and never grow in faith or character. “For whom the Lord loves He chastens” (Heb. 12:6). God uses personal difficulties to teach us new truths from His Word. There is coming a time of judgment (“days of adversity”), but the Lord will spare His people from it. God will protect all who believe and trust in Him a “circle of quiet within the clamor of evil”.
The psalmist believed in the justice of God, the future judgment of the wicked, and the promise of a righteous kingdom for the upright in heart. Do we?
WORK WITH GOD FOR JUSTICE
The psalmist was experiencing the devious plots of the evil leaders and cried out to God for help. He knew that the judges were twisting the law to exploit the poor (v. 20), and he was slipping into a deep and dangerous situation. His heart was anxious within him, but the Lord held him up, pulled him out, and gave him peace within. He was grateful for other believers who stood with him and prayed with him, for “my God” in verse 22 became “our God” in verse 23. Ask God for justice then do what He says. He is God and we are not.
In evil days, we give thanks that we have the Lord as our refuge and fortress. But we hide in Him, not that we may escape responsibility, but that we might be equipped to go forth and fight the enemy. As the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16), God’s people should do all they can to encourage justice in this world. As Edmund Burke said, “It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.” But in the end, it is the Lord who knows the hearts of people and who will judge justly. Count on God, not on man, to judge justly.
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 94, The Message
1-2 God, put an end to evil; avenging God, show your colors! Judge of the earth, take your stand; throw the book at the arrogant.
3-4 God, the wicked get away with murder— how long will you let this go on? They brag and boast and crow about their crimes!
5-7 They walk all over your people, God, exploit and abuse your precious people. They take out anyone who gets in their way; if they can’t use them, they kill them. They think, “God isn’t looking, Jacob’s God is out to lunch.”
8-11 Well, think again, you idiots, fools—how long before you get smart? Do you think Ear-Maker doesn’t hear, Eye-Shaper doesn’t see? Do you think the trainer of nations doesn’t correct, the teacher of Adam doesn’t know? God knows, all right— knows your stupidity, sees your shallowness.
12-15 How blessed the man you train, God, the woman you instruct in your Word, Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil, while a jail is being built for the wicked. God will never walk away from his people, never desert his precious people. Rest assured that justice is on its way and every good heart put right.
16-19 Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against evil workers? If God hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up.
20-23 Can Misrule have anything in common with you? Can Troublemaker pretend to be on your side? They ganged up on good people, plotted behind the backs of the innocent.
But God became my hideout, God was my high mountain retreat, Then boomeranged their evil back on them: for their evil ways he wiped them out, our God cleaned them out for good.
TRUTH: There is only one God and we are not Him. No one on earth is like God. God is in control of all. God is the only perfect and righteous judge. God is I AM, the Lord our God from creation to everlasting. Believe in God, put Him first, leave all the rest of this world behind. Work with Him not against Him. God is our Hope. Abide in Jesus, His Son who saved us and He will abide in You. God is. We are not…God.
Do you really believe God or not?
Proverb 28:2-5, The Message
When the country is in chaos, everybody has a plan to fix it— But it takes a leader of real understanding to straighten things out.
3 The wicked who oppress the poor are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.
4 If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity; if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.
5 Justice makes no sense to the evil-minded; those who seek God know it inside and out.
WISDOM: Love God’s law. Live God’s Love. Seek God. Seek His justice.
Abba Father,
Help us to not lash out but to pray for justice. Guide us to know your justice and work with you not against you. May all our hope, trust and faith be in You. Help us to shine your light of hope and salvation for all to see. May we consistently point the way to You, dear Jesus, and leave all else behind. Provide a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil.
I used to brag about a day gone well. How pridefully foolish was that? Knowing God the way I do now, I give all praise to God. Now, I want everyone around me to know that God is at the beginning and ending of each day. I pray, asking to see His glory at work in small and magnificent ways, and God never disappoints. In fact, every way that God works is pretty magnificent when you really consider all His ways. God is always at work in and around us. It is up to us, our responsibility of trust and faith, to listen more intently to hear God’s voice above all others. We need to laser focus our vision to recognize what God is doing right under our noses! Always God. That’s why we praise Him!
Our hearts, minds and souls need to be thrown open wide to receive Him so we “see” Him for who He is. The rest of our created senses must join in to feel His Presence in our created beings! Yes, He is God and we or no one else is…God. There is nothing He cannot do. There is no one He does not love. There is no one like Him. Seriously recognize God for who He is, not what we make Him to be in our small minds, but who He really is! He is Love, Mercy and Grace. God is the One and Only God who sent His Son to save us. He never changes in His love for us and He never will. What He promises, He delivers! Our changing society, who can’t decide what love is much less who to love, cannot be trusted–ever. Yes, God is the constant we can cling to in these times. Always God. Always.
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 93, The Message
1-2 God is King, robed and ruling, God is robed and surging with strength.
And yes, the world is firm, immovable, Your throne ever firm—you’re Eternal!
3-4 Sea storms are up, God, Sea storms wild and roaring, Sea storms with thunderous breakers.
Stronger than wild sea storms, Mightier than sea-storm breakers, Mighty God rules from High Heaven.
5 What you say goes—it always has. “Beauty” and “Holy” mark your palace rule, God, to the very end of time.
TRUTH: What you say, LORD God of all, happens! God from beginning to end. Always God.
Proverb 28:25, The Message
WISDOM: “A grasping person stirs up trouble, but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.” To know God as God alone who created the world, brings good from bad, protects, provides and loves beyond our wildest dreams brings a “sense of well-being” that no one else can give us. Always God.
Abba Father,
Simple truth. Simple wisdom. I will look for you all day long and into the night. I will listen for your voice above the hard to understand voices of others. I will give thanks now for all you will do today. Help me to recognize all your works and give you glory immediately. I stand in awe of You, Lord. Always You, Lord God.
In Jesus Name, Amen
And I stand, I stand in awe of You I stand, I stand in awe of You Holy God, to whom all praise is due I stand in awe of You…
Oh Lord, you’re beautiful, Your face is all I seek, For when your eyes are on this child, Your grace abounds to me.
There is nothing more beautiful that to give God enthusiastic and sincere thanks for all He has done, is doing and will do in our lives. He loves our praise for who He is, but I wonder if He really loves knowing we are grateful for how He loves us. Isn’t that the way we feel when our family member or a good friend tells us how much they appreciate our loving provisions or actions for them? Think about it. God is our Father in Heaven who loves us and provides for all our needs in His timing. How beautiful it is to acknowledge what God has done for us!
Because our God reigns supremely, and always will, we can be the people of God that He wants us to be. Gratefully appreciative! The psalm describes the characteristics of believers who trust a sovereign God. Let’s take a look;
We are to be a worshipping people. A part of Israel’s covenant relationship with the Lord was their honoring of the weekly Sabbath. It was a special sign between Israel and the Lord and reminded them that God had delivered them from Egypt (Deut. 5:12-15). But the Sabbath also reminded them of God the Creator.
In Genesis 1 we are told that what God made was “good.” The psalmist added an eighth “good thing”–it is “good to give thanks [praise] to the Lord.” Believers today can praise the Lord for His generous creation gifts, His salvation through the blood of the Lamb, and His gracious covenant with us because of what Jesus did on the cross. Worship ought to be the natural outflow of a heart that loves the Lord and appreciates who He is and what He has done for His people.
“To announce your love each daybreak, sing your faithful presence all through the night”. We can begin the day assured of His love and end the day looking back on His faithfulness. We can look around and marvel at His works, including His providential care and leading in our own lives, and we can look into His Word and probe the depths of His great thoughts.
We are an overcoming people. The psalmist shifts our attention to the enemies of the Lord who make life difficult for God’s people. These people are God’s concern. He takes care of those who are against Him and provides for those who are with Him. God wants His people to be overcomers (Rom. 12:21; 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:4-5; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 21:7), and this comes when first we are worshippers.
We are a people of The Promise. God grows and matures His own to be strong, flourishing and fruitful. As believers, we take root in Christ, becoming the branches of The Vine. As we take nourishment from Jesus, we begin to bear the fruit of the characteristics of God. We can’t make this change without the help of His Holy Spirit. The fruit-bearing of His Holy character are named in Galatians 5:22-23, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Apart from The Vine, we wither and die.
The promise in Psalm 91:16 is still true, and so is the picture in 92:13-14. To stay “fresh and green” in old age and not spend one’s life complaining and demanding is a mark of God’s special blessing! What a joy it is to hang out with an older saint who is fresh, fruitful, and flourishing. We change as we grow older, but the Lord never changes. He is our Rock, and what He wills for us is perfect, so we will not complain.
PAUSE TO PRAY…
How can this theme be the theme of our lives? Are we grateful worshippers, overcomers with Jesus, as people of The Promise of His return?
Do we really believe what we believe about God is really real?
Then “come to his gates with thanksgiving and praise”! How beautiful it is to praise and thank God!
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 92, The Message
A Sabbath Song
1-3 What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to you, the High God! To announce your love each daybreak, sing your faithful presence all through the night, Accompanied by dulcimer and harp, the full-bodied music of strings.
4-9 You made me so happy, God I saw your work and I shouted for joy. How magnificent your work, God! How profound your thoughts! Dullards never notice what you do; fools never do get it. When the wicked popped up like weeds and all the evil men and women took over, You mowed them down, finished them off once and for all. You, God, are High and Eternal. Look at your enemies, God! Look at your enemies—ruined! Scattered to the winds, all those hirelings of evil!
10-14 But you’ve made me strong as a charging bison, you’ve honored me with a festive parade. The sight of my critics going down is still fresh, the rout of my malicious detractors. My ears are filled with the sounds of promise: “Good people will prosper like palm trees, Grow tall like Lebanon cedars; transplanted to God’s courtyard, They’ll grow tall in the presence of God, lithe and green, virile still in old age.”
15 Such witnesses to upright God! My Mountain, my huge, holy Mountain!
TRUTH:What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to you, the High God!
Proverb 28:5, The Message
WISDOM: Justice makes no sense to the evilminded; those who seek God know it inside and out.
Abba Father,
Holy are Great are you, Lord! You are God and I am not. You are provider of all that is good and right, beautiful and appropriate, timely and encouraging. You are our strength by day and our song in the night. Your Presence is appreciated. Your teaching is welcomed. Your love is amazing. Your grace and mercy–so undeserved, yet you give both from a love that is beyond our human thinking. Keep me focused on You. Help me to hear Your voice above all others and obey quickly. My hope, trust and faith are in You alone.
The first time my dad decided to teach me how to swim, I was terrified. I was still in shallow water but I didn’t know when he would take me out to the deep water. Being the very short person I have always been, water was nearly always over my head! At least in my mind, it was. Dad’s first idea was to give instruction. But the words got lost in my fear. Then he showed me how to swim using my arms and legs as paddles. Again, all I could think about was when and how he would make me do what he was showing me. Then, seeing my fear, he said, get on my back and you will see and feel what I’m doing. Don’t worry, I will keep you safe.
Because I trusted my dad, I eased onto his back and held on for dear life! I clutched his neck with both arms wrapped tightly around him until he could hardly breathe, but he was laughing at the same time. Dad knew I wouldn’t drown on his watch. But I had to be convinced.
Soon he was swimming beyond the depths I was used to playing. The lesson got more serious. He swam with ease and I was still hanging on for dear life. Soon, I relaxed because dad was relaxed. He brought me back to shallow waters and said, “See, I had you all along”. He then said, “I love you too much to let you drown in deep waters.”
That’s exactly how our Heavenly Father, our Abba Father, feels about us. He loves us too much to let us drown in our own sin and selfishness, in troubles or from attacks from the evil one. He sometimes sends us to the deep waters of life to teach us His character while we realize He will always be there to rescue us and will not allow us to drown. Isaiah, God’s prophet, who spoke God’s words says,
“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2
So, hold onto God for dear life…He’s got us! For life!
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 91, The Message
1-13 You who sit down in the High God’s presence, spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow, Say this: “God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you. You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door. He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
14-16 “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God, “I’ll get you out of any trouble. I’ll give you the best of care if you’ll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party. I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!”
TRUTH: “Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.” God’s got this and everything else the world throws at us.
Proverb 28:1, The Message
The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one’s after them; Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions.
WISDOM: Follow God, be honest and relax. Our confidence is in God alone.
Abba Father,
The reminders of your love and care were just what I needed this morning. Of course, You are in control of all, in all, above all because you created all. You know the hearts of all and can work wonders. We pray for your wonders and glory to be seen in all that is going on in our world today. We are in deep waters but we are holding onto You for dear life because our faith and confidence is You. You are our confidence! Thank you for loving us the way you do. May we love others they way you love us.
In Jesus Name, Amen
I will rest In Your promises My confidence Is Your faithfulness
Faithful, You are Faithful, forever, You will be Faithful, You are All Your promises are Yes and Amen All Your promises are Yes and Amen
Oh Lord, you’re beautiful, Your face is all I seek, For when your eyes are on this child, Your grace abounds to me.
These are some of the lyrics to a song, “Lord, You’re Beautiful” by the prolific Steve Green. It plays in the background as I read and study this next psalm written by a man of God, Moses. Moses was a leader, but as you recall from his story, being THE leader of God’s people was not what he desired until God put His power in him. Moses learned quickly that obedience to God was the only way to live and the only way to lead. God poured into Moses all that he needed to lead God’s people out of oppressive slavery. By God’s power left Egypt, through powerful waters, to a safe haven in the wilderness of God’s care and keeping. But evil followed them there.
Oh Lord, please light the fire, That once burned bright and clear. Replace the lamp of my first love, That burns with Holy fear.
From the burning bush to the parting of the Red Sea, Moses humbled himself in obedience to God. When he failed to do that, Moses knew it and quickly repented and came back to doing what God told him to be and do. We know when we stray to go it alone without God, don’t we?
I want to take your word and shine it all around. But first help me to just, live it Lord. And when I’m doing well, help me to never seek a crown. For my reward is giving glory to you.
We can learn great wisdom and the character of God from the psalm before us from one who knew God, talked with God and who lived in obedience to God. This is the true character of leadership called of God for a specific purpose and plan of God. Yes, God is God and we are not. When God calls, He has the plan. Our work is His work in and through us. We are merely invited to His work for a season and for “such a time as this”.
Oh Lord, you’re beautiful, Your face is all I seek, For when your eyes are on this child, Your grace abounds to me.
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 90, The Message
A Prayer of Moses, Man of God
1-2 God, it seems you’ve been our home forever; long before the mountains were born, Long before you brought earth itself to birth, from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.
3-11 So don’t return us to mud, saying, “Back to where you came from!” Patience! You’ve got all the time in the world—whether a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you.
Are we no more to you than a wispy dream, no more than a blade of grass That springs up gloriously with the rising sun and is cut down without a second thought? Your anger is far and away too much for us; we’re at the end of our rope. You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed since we were children is entered in your books. All we can remember is that frown on your face. Is that all we’re ever going to get? We live for seventy years or so (with luck we might make it to eighty), And what do we have to show for it? Trouble. Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard. Who can make sense of such rage, such anger against the very ones who fear you?
12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well! Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?— and treat your servants with kindness for a change. Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we’ll skip and dance all the day long. Make up for the bad times with some good times; we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime. Let your servants see what you’re best at— the ways you rule and bless your children. And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
TRUTH: Long before you brought earth itself to birth, from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.
Proverb 27:21, The Message
The purity of silver and gold is tested by putting them in the fire; The purity of human hearts is tested by giving them a little fame.
WISDOM: Know that God’s testing fire purifies our hearts and souls until He can see his reflection in us. He is God and we are His people. Others will know us by Who we reflect in our character.
Oh Lord, you’re beautiful, Your face is all I seek, For when your eyes are on this child, Your grace abounds to me.
Abba Father,
You are God and we are not. Affirm Your work in us and through us. Give us clarity and wisdom to know we truly are in the center of Your will, accomplishing YOUR purpose and plan. I want what You want, Lord. May your glory be seen in me and all around me as I go about this day. Thank you, Lord.
Our country is in turmoil. Countries and providences have been divided for ages. Leaders rise and fall. Humans want our own way and we want it instantly. When we don’t get our own way, the fighting begins. It’s more than a mere difference of opinion, we have lost our path to all that is right and just. What is right and good comes only from the mind of Christ, our Lord. If we do not believe in Christ, the Son of the Living, Present God, and follow our own way, then we are lost to our devices of hate and hateful ways with vices of bitterness, addiction to self-satisfaction, which leads to self-destruction. Friends, none of us are smart enough to go our own way. No matter what is happening, don’t forget the passwords of praise. The passwords into God’s grace are humility and repentance.
How often do we forget our passwords to our apps? How frustrating it is to forget our passwords, that we created ourselves, to “protect” important information in our computers! We try every word, letter and number configuration to get to the right stuff, right? We shout hallelujahs when we finally remember and can get to what is most important to us.
It is the same when we lose the passwords of praise to our Creator, our living hope, our salvation, the foundation of our faith. We try every configuration of behavior to do what is right in our own way instead of being the created who love God with all that is in Him while trusting and obeying God’s way of living His love, mercy and grace. I love how Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase the psalmist’s words in The Message, describing the avenue to sincere praise;
“The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule; Love and Truth are its fruits. Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise, who shout on parade in the bright presence of God.” Ps. 89
The passwords of praise are then shown in our responsive behavior to God’s love, truth, justice, righteousness, mercy and grace! “Blessed are the people who know…” Blessed are the ones who sing God’s song and tell His story. Blessed are the ones who live in His ways because of their love for Him.
Ah, remember, the Lord “looks over the whole earth”, browsing and scanning whose hearts are completely His. (2 Chronicles 16:9) Is my heart, mind and soul His? Completely? These are the passwords of praise.
What did our Lord see yesterday at our nation’s capital? Did it surprise Him? No. Jesus explained what would happen over two thousand years ago to his disciples who ask about the future of His coming and His Kingdom’s reign. Many who believe are wondering the same these days. The signs have been appearing all along, so to say it is soon is only our way of resolving what has gone on in God’s creation since Cain and Abel. We don’t know the time, but those who know Jesus will know Him when He does come back for His own.
While living under treacherous oppressive Roman rule we find the disciples concerned about what Jesus was saying about The Temple. In Matthew 24…”The disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
ABIDING “ENDURANCE” IS A PASSWORD OF PRAISE!
The Coming
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His [d]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24
AND WHEN HE COMES…Those who know Him will know it is He who is coming! Look for Him! Lay down all that stands in the way of knowing Jesus now! To know, repent, abide, follow, love unconditionally, walk humbly, showing mercy to all mankind are the passwords to praise. There is only one password to setting us free from sin— “Jesus”!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The ultimate password to praise? Believe. Believe in Jesus and be saved from our sin and from all this divisive world thinking has to offer us as cheap living. Instead choose to live rich, abundantly abiding lives in and for Him. There is no one like our God! Absolutely no one.
Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs
Psalm 89, The Message
An Ethan Prayer
1-4 Your love, God, is my song, and I’ll sing it! I’m forever telling everyone how faithful you are. I’ll never quit telling the story of your love— how you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it. Your love has always been our lives’ foundation, your fidelity has been the roof over our world. You once said, “I joined forces with my chosen leader, I pledged my word to my servant, David, saying, ‘Everyone descending from you is guaranteed life; I’ll make your rule as solid and lasting as rock.’”
5-18 God! Let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways, the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways! Search high and low, scan skies and land, you’ll find nothing and no one quite like God. The holy angels are in awe before him; he looms immense and august over everyone around him. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who is like you, powerful and faithful from every angle? You put the arrogant ocean in its place and calm its waves when they turn unruly.
You gave that old hag Egypt the back of your hand, you brushed off your enemies with a flick of your wrist. You own the cosmos—you made everything in it, everything from atom to archangel. You positioned the North and South Poles; the mountains Tabor and Hermon sing duets to you. With your well-muscled arm and your grip of steel— nobody trifles with you!
The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule; Love and Truth are its fruits. Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise, who shout on parade in the bright presence of God. Delighted, they dance all day long; they know who you are, what you do—they can’t keep it quiet! Your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us— you’ve been so good to us! We’re walking on air! All we are and have we owe to God, Holy God of Israel, our King!
19-37 A long time ago you spoke in a vision, you spoke to your faithful beloved: “I’ve crowned a hero, I chose the best I could find; I found David, my servant, poured holy oil on his head, And I’ll keep my hand steadily on him, yes, I’ll stick with him through thick and thin. No enemy will get the best of him, no scoundrel will do him in. I’ll weed out all who oppose him, I’ll clean out all who hate him.
I’m with him for good and I’ll love him forever; I’ve set him on high—he’s riding high! I’ve put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other; he’ll call out, ‘Oh, my Father—my God, my Rock of Salvation!’ Yes, I’m setting him apart as the First of the royal line, High King over all of earth’s kings. I’ll preserve him eternally in my love, I’ll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised. I’ll guarantee his family tree and underwrite his rule.
If his children refuse to do what I tell them, if they refuse to walk in the way I show them, If they spit on the directions I give them and tear up the rules I post for them— I’ll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion and make them face the music. But I’ll never throw them out, never abandon or disown them. Do you think I’d withdraw my holy promise? or take back words I’d already spoken? I’ve given my word, my whole and holy word; do you think I would lie to David? His family tree is here for good, his sovereignty as sure as the sun, Dependable as the phases of the moon, inescapable as weather.”
38-51 But God, you did walk off and leave us, you lost your temper with the one you anointed. You tore up the promise you made to your servant, you stomped his crown in the mud. You blasted his home to kingdom come, reduced his city to a pile of rubble Picked clean by wayfaring strangers, a joke to all the neighbors. You declared a holiday for all his enemies, and they’re celebrating for all they’re worth. Angry, you opposed him in battle, refused to fight on his side; You robbed him of his splendor, humiliated this warrior, ground his kingly honor in the dirt. You took the best years of his life and left him an impotent, ruined husk. How long do we put up with this, God? Are you gone for good? Will you hold this grudge forever? Remember my sorrow and how short life is. Did you create men and women for nothing but this? We’ll see death soon enough. Everyone does. And there’s no back door out of hell.
So where is the love you’re so famous for, Lord? What happened to your promise to David? Take a good look at your servant, dear Lord; I’m the butt of the jokes of all nations, The taunting jokes of your enemies, God, as they dog the steps of your dear anointed.
52 Blessed be God forever and always! Yes. Oh, yes.
TRUTH: “Your love has always been our lives’ foundation, your fidelity has been the roof over our world.”
Proverb 27:8, The Message
WISDOM: “People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon, are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.” “Be still and know that I AM God.” He is God above all His created, above all wisdom the world has ever known. And He is Savior. Walk in His ways. “Settle down”.
Abba Father,
We come to you with broken hearts for what is happening where we live and wonder what’s next for us? What will we endure because of the brokenness of those who have turned to hate, lies, deceptions while stirring up defenseless people? Ah, but then we realize you are in control and will always be in control. Our souls are precious to you. You saved our souls for eternity by the blood sacrifice of Your Son. We find peace in knowing, while realizing the depth of your love for us. Help us to not align ourselves with anyone who hates but instead lean into the passwords of praise that declare our allegiance only to you. Leaders rise and fall. But you, Lord? You are our King forever! Help us love like you love as if our lives depended on it no matter what is happening around us or to us.
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 