Tell the Story! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 107:2,

"Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story..."

Psalm 107 encourages those who have been helped by the Lord to tell their story. Then, the psalm offers five stories that could be told. Wanderers in desert wastelands, those chained in darkness, fools that became afflicted because of their iniquities, sailors as merchants on the "mighty waters", and wanderers in a trackless waste.

Here is the theme in each of these five sample stories:

Wanderers in desert wastelands: the Lord delivered them from their distress, verse 6.
Those chained in darkness: the Lord saved them from their distress, verse 13.
Fools that became afflicted because of their iniquities: the Lord saved them from their distress, verse 19.
Sailors as merchants on the "mighty waters": the Lord brought them out of their distress, verse 28.
Wanderers in a trackless waste: the Lord lifted the needy out of their affliction, verse 41.

Distressed and afflicted people find relief and more in the Lord. They need to tell their story so that others in like condition can find the same. If we are honest about the sinful condition of our lives (we all share in that condition), and recognize the looming judgment of God following this age, all of us should feel the angst of distress and affliction. Embracing Jesus Christ in faith is the way to find our deliverance and relief from that horrific judgment.

It certainly is a story for each of us believers to tell.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Faith Impacts Our Choices - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 106:6-7,

"We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;
    we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
When our ancestors were in Egypt,
    they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
    and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea."

In this psalm the psalmist recounts the many ways in which Israel sinned against the Lord as they were delivered from Egypt, given the promised land, and the manner in which they comported themselves in the land.

In addition to the indictment above, here are some other observations the psalmist made:

They soon forgot what the Lord had done when he delivered Israel from Egypt, verse 13, 21-22.
They tested God by doubting he could provide for them in the wilderness, verses 14-15, 32-33.
They became envious of Moses and Aaron and challenged God's choice of them to lead the nation, verse 16.
They exchanged their worship of God for idols, verses 19-20, 28, 36-39.
Israel despised the land God gave them, verse 24.
They didn't believe in his promise, verse 24.
Israel grumbled against the Lord and disobeyed him, verse 25.
They engaged in wicked deeds, verse 29.
Israel disobeyed the Lord by not destroying the peoples previously in the promised land, 34-35
They engaged in child sacrifice, verses 37-39.
They rebelled against the Lord, verse 43.

No doubt I missed a couple, but look at this indictment against Israel! There is one outstanding and common thread to each and every one of these ways in which Israel sinned: an absence of faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

I feel it would behove me to recognize that if I live a lifestyle of sin, I express a clear lack of reverence in and fear of the Lord. This can only be if we fail to embrace him in faith. When we embrace the Lord in faith, James tells us it will impact our life choices in the light of knowing him. Otherwise, we are just fooling ourselves.

Israel had all of the experiences they needed with the Lord to embrace him in faith, yet they failed to do so. Since the only way we can enter into eternal life is through faith in Jesus Christ, we best look at the choices we make to see if they reflect a true faith in him.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The God of All Nations - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 105:1,

"Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
   make known among the nations what he has done."

Psalm 105 recounts Israel's history, and particularly her history relative to other nations. In verses 12-15 the psalmist speaks of the Lord not allowing other nations to oppress the fledgling family of Jacob prior to their sojourn in Egypt where they became a sizable nation.

Of that history in Egypt, a recounting is made of God's judgments that eventually prompted Egypt to let Israel leave. At the end of the psalm we read of the lands of other nations God gave Israel, they "fell heir to what others had toiled for", verse 44.

However, what catches my eye this morning is that the psalmist's call to praise the Lord, in light of the Lord's history with Israel, is to make known "among the nations" what God has done. The Lord is not just the Lord of Israel, but of all the nations. The Lord wants all nations to know of him.

I am reminded of the doxology at the end of Paul's letter to the Roman church, "Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith— to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen." Romans 16:25-27.

God wants not just Israel to know him, but all the Gentiles as well! All the nations!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Lord: Clothed With Splendor and Majesty! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 104:1-4,

"Praise the Lord, my soul.
Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
    he stretches out the heavens like a tent
     and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
    and rides on the wings of the wind.
He makes winds his messengers,
    flames of fire his servants."

Here is a breathtaking view of the Lord! As the psalmist meditates on the work of God's creative hand, he sees God as very great, clothed in splendor and majesty!

Merriam-Webster defines splendor as "great brightness of luster: brilliancy". Magnificence, pomp (a show of magnificence and splendor), something splendid. Augustness, brilliance, gloriousness, grandeur, magnificence, majesty, nobility, resplendence, stateliness, stupendousness and superbness are all synonyms of splendor. Such is our Lord!

Merriam-Webster also defines majesty as sovereign power, authority or dignity. Royal bearing, grandeur, greatness or splendor of quality of character. Again, augustness, kingliness, royalty and stateliness are all synonyms of majesty. And, again, such is our Lord!

The psalmist has these qualities and attributes in mind as he meditates on our Creator God. What a sweeping and breathtaking view of our Lord God!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

David: Commanding His Soul To Praise! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 103:1-5,

"Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Just how wonderful would someone be if they provided these things for us:

Forgives all sins!
Heals diseases!
Redeems from judgment!
Crowns with love and compassion!
Satisfies desires with good things!
Renews youthfulness!

That is a phenomenal list! Just how wonderful would One be that would provide those things for us?!

I think that One would be worthy of all the praise I could muster. And, that is just what David does in this psalm. He begins and ends the psalm, just like bookends, with the same command to his soul, "Praise the Lord, my soul".

David invites the angels to join in his praise of the Lord, all the heavenly hosts, all the Lord's works. Might I do the same?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Life In The Resurrection - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 102:11,

"My days are like the evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass."

As I read this verse, I am reminded of the real truth of this life. We are here for only a short time. The psalmist makes this statement in the midst of his lament on the very temporal nature of this life.

When growing up, life seemed like it would last forever, and now that I am older, it seems like life is just flying by at an incredible rate. It flies by so fast, that at times I wonder how really important many of the things are that I considered important not so long ago. Many things now seem so temporary, so fleeting.

As I consider this psalm, and particularly this verse, I am also reminded of what lies beyond the grave. The grave is where we are all headed for, at what feels like for me, an accelerated race. However, beyond death comes the bright morning of resurrection for those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Lord and our Savior.

God has provided us believers an inheritance that is just as certain for us as the grave is. For all eternity we will enjoy the inheritance of Jesus Christ, God's Son, as co-heirs with him. Romans 8:14-17. In the resurrection there will be no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more pain and no more death, Revelation 21:3-4. In the resurrection there will be true fulfillment in life. Where what we do in this life is all left behind in too short a life span, life in the resurrection will be full of meaning and purpose. We will enjoy the fruits of our labors for all eternity. As David says in Psalm 16:11, we will be filled with joy in God's presence, we will enjoy eternal pleasures at his right hand.

What a wonderful certain hope we have in the resurrection, courtesy of Jesus Christ!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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David's Lifestyle of Worship - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 101:1-2,

"I will sing of your love and justice;
    to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
    when will you come to me?
I will conduct the affairs of my house
    with a blameless heart."

David knew the Lord and worshipped him in many ways. This psalm itself is an expression of his worship. Within it he enumerates many ways he will worship the Lord. In the spirit of Paul's encouragement to us all, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." Romans 12:1, David, in this psalm, commits himself in a variety of ways to worship the Lord with his life choices:

He will be careful to live a blameless life, verse 2.
He will conduct the affairs of his house with a blameless heart, verse 2.
He will not look with approval on anything vile, verse 3.
He hates what faithless people do and won't participate with them, verse 3.
He will keep the perverse of heart far from him, verse 4.
He won't have anything to do with what is evil, verse 4.
He will silence slanderers, verse 5.
He will not tolerate arrogant and haughty people, verse 5.
He will keep his focus on the faithful and dwell with them, verse 6.
He will only allow those "whose walk is blameless" to serve him as king, verse 6.
He will not allow those who practice deceit or speak falsely to dwell with him or stand in his presence, verse 7.
He will put to silence the wicked, verse 8.
He will expel evildoers from Jerusalem, verse 8.

Most all of this psalm is comprised of a listing of the many ways David had determined to worship the Lord and express his heart for him in the way he conducted his life. Note that David was a man of great faith, listed among the great heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:32, a man after God's own heart, Acts 13:22. In my view, what David committed himself to do in this psalm was not an effort to earn or obtain the Lord's acceptance of him, or to establish himself as worthy of God in any way. David's commitment here was an expression of his love, adoration, reverence and faith in the Lord. David worshipped the Lord with his life.

David truly exemplified the kind of faith James speaks of, "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." James 2:18. Not that David was a perfect man, but then, we don't have to be perfect to worship God, do we?

Is the Lord due anything less from me?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Passion in Worshipping the Lord! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 100:1-5,

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
    Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations."

This is Psalm 100 in its entirety - a short 5 verses. It begins with a call to worship the Lord.

What I love about this psalm is its expression of what the normative emotions, passion, excitement and ardent affections are that should be found in our worship as we focus on the Lord.

Joy expressed in joyful songs, gladness, thanksgiving, an irresistibly felt compulsion to praise.

The psalmist provides the grounds for this passion to praise the Lord as being due to the Lord's own compelling and evocative qualities: the Lord is our Creator God and so we belong to him. He is good, his love endures forever and his faithfulness has no end. Think about those things!

I find this beautiful psalm to be a real jewel in the pages of Scripture!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.