Psalm 95 - 5.6.25
SCRIPTURE: PSALM 95:1-7
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
OBSERVATION
I love this Psalm! Although the author of this Psalm is not noted, other scriptures and scholars have attributed this writing to David.
We are called to sing for joy because He’s the Rock of our salvation. Praise God He’s our rock – never changing, solid and stable, consistently providing protection and our salvation.
We are encouraged to be thankful and extol him with music and song. Praise God for worship music! Thank Him for the chance to even be able to praise him with music and song. There are some people in the world who can’t even do these things without persecution. We are blessed and that is one more thing we can praise God for in our lives.
Verses 3 – 5 gives us all the reasons why we are to sing, praise and extol God. It’s because of His power over everything. He binds everything on earth together. This reflects his sovereignty over creation. The visual of his hands that can reach deep into the core of the earth then to the mountaintops, to the ocean and to the desert shows He’s all powerful. God is above all gods because He is the one who created the earth, the mountains, the sea, and even the dry land. He is above all things on earth. It is all His and worthy to be praised!
“You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.” Nehemiah 9:6
Once we visualize and contemplate the meaning of verses 3 – 5, there is nothing else we can do but to bow down in worship as verse 6 invites us to do. When we bow down and kneel, we acknowledge his status as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Bowing down is a sign of submission and humility. We are giving him the honor and position that He is our God and we are his people. Verse 7 reflects God as our shepherd and we are the sheep in his care. He is King and holds the universe in his hands and yet we are called his flock and we are under his care. He loves us!
APPLICATION
When I started to read this section of scripture, I was reminded of Pastor Levi’s series on “I am.” If you’ve not yet had a chance to hear the series, I highly recommend it. Even if you heard it before, listen to it again. It’s amazing!
God gives us so many ways in which we can worship him in our daily life. Worshiping and honoring God can be something we can do with just the simple things in life. Waking up in the morning is a blessing. Having family, friends, and our wonderful church family is a great blessing we can thank God for each and every day. When we witness a glorious sunrise or sunset, we can thank God for what he created and provides for us. When we see the countryside, mountains, the sea, we can give God the glory. When we see all the stars at night, the glow of the moon, we can thank God because He not only created them but He is above them all.
“To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.” Deuteronomy 10:14
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for being my rock and my salvation. You are worthy to be praised every second of every day. Everything in my life is because of your blessings and provisions. You continue to amaze me with your faithfulness and your love when I don’t deserve anything. Lord, thank you for the blessings of music that we can worship you with, giving you the praise you deserve. You are my maker, my shepherd, my lord, my savior, and I bow down to you. In Jesus name. Amen and Amen.
- Mary Oberg
Acts 23 - 5.5.25
Scripture
Acts 23:11 NIV
“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.””
Observation
Paul was before the Pharisees and Sanhedrin (again!), having to answer for his ministry in Jesus Christ. There was also a plot to kill him; however, before he learned of that plot, the Lord encouraged Paul to be courageous. He told him that he was still going to testify about Him in Rome. He didn’t want Paul to lose heart and told him he still had work to do.
Paul could have easily buckled under the weight of all the pressure on him. He could have easily been discouraged and decided to quit the mission because the journey was too hard. But, Paul didn’t quit. He kept pressing forward and having hope in the Lord to complete the mission. Why? Because the Holy Spirit was in him and with him.
Application
Continue being filled with Holy Spirit and lean on His great faithfulness through the journey.
The journey of faith is not always easy, but when we are in line with God’s will, His Spirit will always provide the encouragement we need to continue pressing forward.
One of my goals several years ago was to memorize Ephesians 6:11-18, which is the passage on the armor of God. One particular part of the passage talks about putting on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to take our stand; but after we have done everything, just keep standing.
We cannot keep standing without the Holy Spirit. Also, continually being filled with His Spirit is not an option, but a must, especially when we understand who is warring against our spirit. Ephesians says that our struggle is against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It is not just the B-team. It is the A-team heads of evil! The only One able to defeat them and the only One who they have no hold over is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! So why wouldn’t we want His Holy Spirit residing in us and being filled with Him everyday?
Are you facing an obstacle right now where you are tempted to throw in the towel? Read and memorize the armor of God in Ephesians 6 and be encouraged to stand firm in the Lord! Ask the Holy Spirit to fill You with His truth.
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank You for Your encouragement to keep standing firm, to keep pressing forward and to keep being on mission for You despite hardships and opposition. May we seek to always be filled with Your Holy Spirit so that we can withstand the pressures that come with living a life completely set apart for You. Amen.
-Michelle Gaddi
2 Chronicles 24 - 5.2.25
Scripture: 2 Chronicles 24:2, 8-14 NIV
“Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest. At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the Lord. A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the wilderness. All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king’s officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money. The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple. The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it. When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the Lord’s temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord.”
Observation:
Joash did what was right “all the years of Jehoiada the priest. A godly mentor kept him on track and motivated him to do great things for God.
The first attempt to collect money failed. The priests were going from town to town to collect.
The king took a different approach. He had a chest made and placed outside the temple gate and reissued the proclamation that they should bring to the Lord the contribution, most other versions do not use the word “tax,” that Moses required in the wilderness.
People and officials brought their contributions gladly. The chest was so full it kept having to be emptied.
There was enough to restore the temple to its original design and build articles for service.
What made the difference? I can only stipulate. The first time people were asking for money. The second an easy to access location was set up for them to come on their own accord and give. People responded and gave abundantly when they could do so on their own accord.
Application:
As I read this the abundance of the offerings really stood out to me. When I was praying over what verses to write about I hesitated using this one wondering, “Is this just sticking out to me because like the temple our church’s kids ministry and multipurpose rooms are in dire need of repair? Am I just supposed to pray about it myself?”
Coming back to it again, I felt I should share.
We all have needs in our lives. Truth be told my house needs lots of repair too! Am I trusting Him? Do I ask? Often I decide on my own I don’t have enough without seeking God. God has given us principals to follow.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NIV
Paul prayed this truth blessing after the Philippians had sacrificially gave to help his needs as he shared the Gospel.
On my second reading that there were the two attempts to collect the money needed also stood out to me. This is a good point for all of us to remember, if our first attempt is not successful try again. Keep obeying and encouraging others to do the same.
Another nugget, when we follow God’s directives to tithe and give generously His kingdom gets built. His house will have all it needs to function for His glory.
Don’t give up. God does not want His house in disrepair.
You are His. He will make sure what we have is what we need in our personal houses.
Joash declared the people should give as God commanded and set up the place for them to give. We need to have faith to ask things that are in accordance with God’s word. Share the rewards obedience brings.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for always providing for our needs. You want us to live in abundance. We are so blessed to have all that we do. Please help us be grateful and to obey your Word. Please provide for the needs of Desert Streams, all the churches, and your people, as we are faithful to You.
Stir up in hearts the faith to obey your command to tithe and give. So, just like what happened with Joash our “temple” meeting place will be restored. We want this because we know lives will be changed and You will be glorified. Amen
- Cindy Howard