Psalm 103

As I've talked to young moms over the years, they've often shared the common concern that they have a hard time squeezing in quiet times.  Being in this season myself, I understand the struggle.  I've learned, however, that I am a much happier Mom and wife when I do find the time to sit before the Lord.

One of the residuals I've carried from reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's works is the value of the Psalms.  Bonhoeffer encouraged believers to read one Psalm a day as a prayer.  In Visible Fellowship, took it one step further and encouraged believers to stop and pause three times a day in prayer and reflection.  While I haven't squeezed in three times a day, I have begun to occasionally pause in the afternoon to read/pray a Psalm.  It has been a wonderful mid-afternoon reminder and refresher to my day.  I've been revolving around only one Psalm for the last month.  It is so rich and full that it has provided a wonderful diving board into prayer and meditation.  Below is Psalm 103 in the Amplified version.  I will share some of my thoughts throughout.

1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

I love the Amplified's explanation of the word bless, to be honest throughout the years I've had no idea how to "bless the Lord" so the words in the parentheses have helped guide me into blessing Him.

All that is "deepest" within me.  There are places, thoughts, ideas in my heart that I've wanted to hide from the Lord.  This Psalm has encouraged me to "bless" Him from every place.  During my quiet prayers I'm learning to praise Him with all areas.

2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-

I love the idea "to forget not one of all His benefits."  Again, in my daily prayers through this Psalm it has been fun to pause and reflect on a singular benefit of loving the Lord.  There are so many, thus another reason why I've been able to sit so long in this Psalm.

3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,

This particular line is a wonderful reminder of the truth of the gospel and the beauty of what Jesus' death and resurrection purchased for us.

4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

I once wrote a post called Spiritual Wardrobe, which lists some of the clothes God offers to dress us with.  I didn't include this one.  I absolutely love the imagery in it - beautifies, dignifies and crowns - to have His loving-kindness and tender mercy on top of your head flowing down!!!

5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

I again love the Amp here, because it shows the personalization of our great God; that He satisfies us right where we are at, so that we can be strengthened and renewed!

6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

This is a beautiful reminder again of the beauty, power and strength of our God!  He is a champion for those who are oppressed.

7He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

The Bible says God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  What a beautiful reminder that God did show His ways to Moses and He continues to make Himself and His ways known to us.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

10He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

This is a Psalm, so at the time of the writing David was being prophetic.  We have the great blessing of being full recipients of the truths David was prophesying about.  We are now in the place where God's anger is no longer against us and we get to live lives of freedom because our sin is not being held against us!  Also, do you see that God is pleanteous in His mercy and loving-kindness.  He is not going to run out!

11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

What a beautiful reminder for us today!  If you have fears about the depths of God's love for you, or the power of Jesus' death had to pay for your sins, you only have to sit and visualize the truths found here!  Your sins have been removed!

13As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

I love the imagery that the frailty of our lives is imprinted on His heart.

15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--

18To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

As many of us know all to well, this life we live is so brief, but what a beautiful and precious reminder of the weight of who God is for all eternity.  For me personally, it is a precious reminder that His love will never fade away and that He has promised to carry the message and benefit of His love to my children and my grandchildren.

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

The end brings us back to the beginning.  If you didn't have a reason to bless the Lord at the start, you have numerous reasons to now!

21Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

I love this - you who do His pleasure.  As children of God, we have the opportunity to carry on the message contained in the Psalm of His love, mercy and grace to those around us!

22Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

Amen!

Oh! I've got goosebumps.  I just love this Psalm. By the time I'm done reading it,  I always want to start this Psalm over again.  For me, it wraps up the beauty of our salvation into one prayer!  It has been a great way for me to stay immersed in His Truth throughout my day!

So here it is one more time, without my interruptions:

1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits--

3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,

4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

7He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

10He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--

18To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

21Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

22Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

In Christ,

Have you found something worth dying for?

My husband and I were listening to a sermon the other day by Todd Hunter and he was talking about how polls show that the majority of Americans claim they are Christians, however many "lifestyles" do not reflect this as true.  He then made the statement, "Many people have found something to live for, but have you found something worth dying for?"  Todd Hunter stated how people are willing to invite Christian morals into their lives, but they often are not willing to die to themselves to follow Christ.

What is Jesus' Call?

As we look at the call of Christ and throughout Christian history we can see that death, both spiritual and at times physical is a part of following the Lord.  Below are several examples of individuals whose understanding of who Jesus Christ is, was something worth physically dying for:

• When Jesus presented Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus, He also presented Paul with the kind of life he would soon be living:
• Acts 9:16, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
• When Paul accepted the invitation to follow Jesus as Lord of His life, Paul understood what he was getting himself into.  His understanding of Jesus Christ convinced Paul that Jesus was someone worth dying for. 
• In John 21:18, Jesus informs Peter of the cost following Jesus would entail:
• "Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, chose to return to Germany, knowing very well that his decision could lead to his death, and he ended up walking to his death saying, "This is the end - for me the beginning of life."

But as we also see in John 21 (which Erwin McManus discusses in Unleashed), not every follower's life, will lead to a physical martyrdom:

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved

was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against

 Jesus at the supper and had said,

“Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 

 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return,

what is that to you?

You must follow me.”

Because of the country we currently live in, our faith rarely requires us to give up our physical life for the sake of Christ.  However, if we hear the words of Jesus, His invitation to us still requires a death:

Luke 9:23

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves

and take up their cross daily

and follow me.

Have you encountered Jesus in such a way that you are willing to die to follow Him?

How Deep is the Love of Christ?

God has been opening my eyes to the depths of His love for others. He has been showing me that if we as His people, want to meet people in their depths then we need to be willing to go to the depths to meet them there.  Entering into those depths may at times very well feel like a type of death, but Jesus is willing to encounter us in a way that we can willing follow Him wherever He leads.

Marriage is one practical area where we have to die to ourselves in order to follow Jesus' path.  As I think about my marriage, I realize that there has been phases where I have not wanted to follow Jesus' leading, particularly, in the area of submission.  I'd love to say, that I've been a great Christian wife always ready to follow my husband's lead.  But there have been many times where I was cringing inside, or defiant to his lead.  I wanted him to prove beforehand that he was worthy of being followed before I would follow.  As a result, frustration and disappointment began to dominate my marriage.  Thankfully, the Lord stepped in to change me.  In my process, the Lord began to ask me to trust Him first and that part of that trust would at times entail dying to my "rights" to have my own way and to instead submit to my husband's leadership.  It was not an easy process and at times it was quite painful.  But in the midst of that "death" God has brought about such life.  I emerged from my spiritual death and awoke to find a husband, who is an incredible man of God and leader.

Another place in my own life where I have experienced a type of "death" in order to follow Christ has been in ministry to others.  One particular time of ministry, was extremely difficult for me and in the process, I thought to myself, "I am going to have to die to myself in order for this thing to work."  I felt like the Lord smiled and said, "Exactly."  I then asked Him, "Is this really how deep your love goes - that a death is needed in order to bring life?"  And He said, "Yes."  You see sometimes for us to be able to serve others in a life-giving way, we are going to have to die to ourselves as we follow Jesus: 

Hebrew 12:1b-2

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 

 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

For the joy set before him he endured the cross,

 scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners,

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The primary way we walk out our Christianity is through love.  In order to love and serve others well we may very well need to die to ourselves to follow Christ's lead.  The good news is that He has gone that way before us and He has overcome it with a new and better life.  So my question remains, "Have you found something worth dying for?"

I pray your answer is, "Yes."

I haven't encountered Christ in a way that I am willing to die.

However, if your answer to this question is no, I would like to share some thoughts.  I know that it would be very easy to read this post and come up with 10 different ways you haven't died to yourself and then begin to come up with strategies on "how to do better tomorrow."  You could beat yourself up and say, "I don't really love Jesus."  If that is your reaction, then you've missed the point.  The "key" to this is to FOLLOW Jesus' lead, and He knows how to speak to you.  However, so many of us have never been taught to listen for His voice because we have been taught to be on a mission of self-improvement.

If your immediate reaction is self-improvement, I believe it is due to one of the greatest misunderstandings of the church today - the idea that a Holy God cannot be in the presence of sin.  In my series entitled, Journey to Understand Grace: Part 3, I address this misunderstanding in depth.  But very simply, Jesus Christ could not have been fully God here on earth if that concept is true.  Because of our obsession with the "problem of our sin" we end up total ignoring the beauty of the cross and what Jesus did.  God states in Psalm 103:12 that He has removed our sin as far as the east is from the west.  So what does this have to do with trusting Jesus?  If you still think your sin is an issue between the two of you, then you will not come to Him to listen nor trust His leading and guidance.  Instead, you will be spending all your time, trying to figure out how to get yourself better in order to spend time with Him.  However, it will be a fruitless cycle of despair and desperation because apart from Christ you cannot be righteous.  So if you don't feel like you can come to Him because of your failures and you try to get better in order to come to Him, you will fail over and over and over again.  Or Beloved, you can embrace the truth.  Jesus Christ came to set you free from the curse of sin and death and you have full access to Him 24/7 no matter what you have done.  This kind of love is profound and can be found in no other place. 

Jesus invitation to Peter provides a perfect scenario of the difference between self-improvement and following Jesus' lead.  Peter had declared that He would follow Jesus to the death but ended up denying Him 3 times!  Then, Jesus came to Peter and asked Peter 3 times if Peter loved Him.  After the third time, Peter finally said, "Lord you know all things..."  Jesus replied, "Follow me."  And that is where the truth lies.  Jesus knew Peter's heart the whole time, but before Peter understood this, Peter thought it was his duty to prove his love to Jesus by the things he did.  Jesus instead showed His great love for Peter that NOTHING could get in the way of Jesus' love for him, including failure, and that Jesus is the One that will lead us the way we should go.  We just have to follow Him.

So I don't know what lies have gotten in the way to prevent you from a desire to follow Jesus with all your heart even unto death.  However, I do know that He is a faithful, True and loving God and He will meet you right where you are at.  In addition, I hope that you understand this "death" to yourself is not so that you can live a miserable existence.  Rather Jesus says, "he who gives up his life for me, will find it (Matthew  10:39)."  This death, is an exchanging of the lies and the masks that we carry around and hide behind.  The result of this "death" is life and life abundant.


In Christ,

Not enough time?

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"We are running out of time!"

"We don't have enough time to do that right now!"

As I've been listening to myself talk to my kids the last several weeks, those would be among the top statements that have been coming out of my mouth.  I began realizing that time, or rather the lack of enough time were dominating my thoughts about and my reactions to most situations.  The future and what "needed to be done next" were becoming more important to me than the present. 

The Lord, has hit my pause button and has invited me to live in TODAY instead of always the next moment.  First off, He has shown me that I already live in eternal life.  According to

John 17:3

"this is eternal life: that they know you,

the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." 

Eternal life has started NOW and so the truth is - I am NOT running out of time.  I am already living in eternal life.  I've been learning more and more each day that He really IS there in every situation and time, wanting to love on us and help us through each moment.

Acts 17:28

"For in Him we live and move and have our being."



I do not need to be afraid of the future because He has promised to never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). The fact that I'm walking in eternity now has helped me to invest in the things that have eternal significance - relationships.  I can enjoy today with my husband, my kids and my friends.  My relationships with them and with God are the only things that hold eternal weight.

In Christ,