Summer in the Psalms True Freedom

 

Summer in the Psalms
True Freedom
Psalm 14:1-7 (CSB)

Key Truth: “God is deserving of our worship in every circumstance of life.”

Main Question: What does true freedom look like and how can we receive it and live in it?

1.     The fool. (vs. 1) 

 

- Biblically, fools are those who have rejected the call of wisdom and embraced the path of folly. They are described as hating knowledge and prefer their self-centered pursuits over God’s wisdom.

 

 

2.    The wicked. (vs. 2-4)

3.    The righteous. (vs. 5-7)

After the Message: Read Romans 3:9-26. What is the condition of all humankind? What is the result of that condition? Does the OT law help with our condition? What is the answer to the human condition? How do we receive this solution?

A Thankful Heart – Psalm 138

Friday, June 28, 2024

A Thankful Heart – Psalm 138 Submitted by Kay Crumley

Why are we to be thankful? You may ask how you can be thankful while in the circumstances that you’re currently facing. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to be joyful in all circumstances and to pray continually. Again, in Philippians 4:4 he tells us to be joyful always because we belong to the Lord. Those who are thankful find joy even in the most difficult circumstances. We find in Psalm 138 that David is declaring his thanks to God. We can be thankful because of who God is, His character, when we are confident that His promises apply to us. That’s the assurance that Christ followers always have. However, we can become discouraged because of our circumstances just as Peter did when the disciples thought they would be drowned in the storm, but they saw Jesus was walking on the water and He calmed the storm. Peter wanted to go to Him, and he too was able to walk on the water until he lost his focus on Jesus and began to sink. We can have a thankful heart filled with joy if our attention is on Him and not our circumstances. 

David is declaring his thankfulness in the first three verses and lists the reasons for that heart of thanks. God is to be praised because His love is constant, He is the God of truth, His promises never fail, and He hears and answers our prayers. That is true for us just as it was for David. Then we can have our strength renewed by our Heavenly Father.  

1 I will give You thanks with all my heart; 
I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings.  
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple 
and give thanks to Your name 
for Your constant love and truth. 
You have exalted Your name 
and Your promise above everything else. 
3 On the day I called, You answered me; 
You increased strength within me. 

Then David lists all those who do or will give thanks to the Lord. The kings will learn about His promises and sing praises to Him. Even though these are people who have great earthly power, they will humble themselves to the Lord of Lords. We must recognize who God is and what our relationship is to Him. He is all-powerful, we must accept that and humble ourselves to Him. The final line of verse six is why we must humble ourselves. God knows those who are filled with pride, haughty, and He doesn’t come near to them. We don’t want to have distance between us and God because of our selfishness and pride. 

4 All the kings on earth will give You thanks, Lord, 
when they hear what You have promised. 

 5 They will sing of the Lord’s ways, 
for the Lord’s glory is great. 
6 Though the Lord is exalted, 
He takes note of the humble; 
but He knows the haughty from a distance. 

David ends this passage as he began it. He is again praising God for what He has done for him. God protected him from danger and extended His right hand to save him just as we saw Jesus save Peter from drowning in the sea when he took his eyes off Him. He gives us purpose that we are to fulfill as we live a life of obedience and service to Him. 

7 If I walk into the thick of danger, 
You will preserve my life 
from the anger of my enemies. 
You will extend Your hand; 
Your right hand will save me. 
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. 
Lord, Your love is eternal; 
do not abandon the work of Your hands. 

God’s love for us is eternal and He will not abandon us. Isaiah 49:16, one of my favorite verses, Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. The Amplified version says I have inscribed a picture of you in the palm of my hands. He will never leave us or forsake us. We are His eternally because of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sin. God saves all those who repent, believe, and follow Jesus.  

Therefore, we have reason to be thankful, regardless of the difficulties we may be facing. Our heart of gratitude leads to joy. We should have joy in our hearts because of who God our Father is every day of our lives. 

 

God Where Are You?

Wednesday, June 27, 2024

What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.  Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39 CSB

What was Paul’s opinion of God’s faithfulness? What circumstances might make him doubt God’s presence? What was his conclusion? In the passage above Paul writes about the vast, deep, and everlasting love, presence, and faithfulness of God.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

God Where Are You?

If God is for us He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything … God IS for us. Paul knew this without a doubt – God was for  him – so in all his afflictions, he knew he could trust his faithfulness. This is the first step in trusting God. Knowing him and seeking him leads to a close personal relationship with him. When we know him, we know all his attributes, or the inherent qualities of his character. One of those attributes is love and one of the greatest truths in the  Scripture is that in spite of who we are and though God hates sin, in spite of all this, God still loves us! It's amazing. When we don’t feel like he cares or still loves us because of the trials we are experiencing, we need to remember what he did for us while we were still sinners. He gave his son for us so we could be forgiven and have eternal life while we were dead in our sins. Would he really leave us or be mad at us for any reason now? He saved us and he loves us and that will be true for his children for all eternity. We must embrace this truth and trust that he is for us. Then we can lean into him in the middle of the storm. We can find peace. 

Paul endured many afflictions and trials after he became a follower of Christ. Paul had many trials where he would have doubted God’s presence if he had not been assured of God’s faithfulness, but Paul knew that God was faithful. He had seen it in his own lifetime and time again. After being arrested and imprisoned in a sewer, shipwrecked, bit by a snake and having to spend winter on a barbarian island, he finally reached Rome, which is what his vision from God revealed.  Even after all he suffered, when he reached Rome and met other Christians there, he thanked God and took courage. The words, take courage, in the Bible mean to give support, encouragement, or hope to others. Even in the middle of the trials of life, we can give hope to others. We can encourage others. We can be a testimony to the ever-present power, presence, and love of Jesus in our own lives, and we can lead others to him. Don’t waste your trial. God is doing something even when he is not doing what you want him to. He can use you – and your story for his glory in the midst of whatever circumstances you are sludging through. 

Paul ended with Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul declared that he believed that nothing could separate us from God, and nothing would ever cause him to doubt the love or faithfulness of his God. 

Instead of living beaten down, like life can make us feel often, we can be thankful, and pass hope on to others.  Hope is what courage is built on and those who have suffered, or are suffering, can help others find the faith and courage to keep going. They can show them faith that stands the test of time and the choppy waves of the trials of life. Someone around you needs hope. Who can you give hope to today? 

Remembering A Faithful God

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

You removed a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it.  You cleared the ground before it, and it took deep root and filled the land. Psalms 80:8-9

Of all the nations of the world, Israel was God's crown jewel. For hundreds of years she had enjoyed the unmatched favor of God; she had experienced undivided fellowship with God; she had been enriched with the unparalleled fortune of God.  But golden dreams had disintegrated into filthy ashes because Israel forgot God. When Israel forgot God, God forsook Israel. Overnight Israel had gone from being a nation of conquerors to a nation of captives. She had gone from blessing to bondage.  No longer was she laughing in the sunlight of glee, she was weeping in the darkness of gloom. She had exchanged the gold bracelets of freedom for the iron shackles of slavery, and buckets of tears.  Asaph was an Israelite man who pleaded with God that He would save his country.  Here was a group of people, headed for the Promised Land, and they were in a big mess. 

 

Remind us – God had already planned this beautiful land, flowing with milk and honey, especially for Israel.  It was no coincidence - they did not accidentally stumble upon it.  God planted them there, and He prepared for them way ahead of time.  They were plucked out of Egypt by the sovereign hand of God and planted in a land flowing with milk and honey.  Now they had distanced themselves from Him and the consequences were tough. But they learned.  They were quickly reminded that all they had was because of Him and without Him, life was awful, and deadly.  They had stepped outside of God’s good graces and the protective barrier between them and their enemies was gone.  God took it away.  He removed Himself from their lives and they were attacked.  They pleaded for Him to return and “shine His face on them again” - Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name! Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!  Let your face shine, that we may be saved!  Psalm 80:18-19  

They turned, they remembered, and they pleaded.  They had to be reminded of how good God had been and how safe they were in His will.  We all have to be reminded sometimes.  We wander out of the bounds of God’s protection and grace and get stung.  If we are smart, we learn quickly and get back to the place that God’s face shines on us as fast as we can go.  There is nothing, nothing, nothing outside of God’s bounds for our lives that is worth the price we pay if we go after it.  The greatest place to ever be is basking in His shining face.  That is the promised land.  

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!  Psalm 80:3

Suffer Well

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials  so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy,  because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.. I Peter 1:6-9 CSB

Suffer Well
Everybody faces trials. They are a fact of life, and they also come in many shapes and sizes. Over our lifetime we will face many different kinds of trials, and a lot of us feel like we have experienced a lot of them in the last year. Although some things are getting back to normal, there’s an underlying buildup of one thing after another. We may begin to peel off the layers, but it will be a while before it is all processed, and in the meantime, we continue to pile more and more on top. It can be overwhelming, and we may even begin to find unhealthy and sinful activities to numb ourselves to what feels like unbearable circumstances. Unfortunately we can ruin our own lives, and even the lives of others, with poor decisions when we don’t suffer well.

God did not say we would have perfect, happy, easy lives. He does not call us to coast through this life. He actually calls us to struggle sometimes. And sometimes he calls us to struggle for a long time. When we are uncomfortable, we want to fix it as fast as possible, and we sometimes expect him to. But there are times that God calls us to sit in the uncomfortable struggles for whatever reason. It may be because he wants to mold us, or it may be because he put us there for another person. 

Katherine Wolf recently released a new book titled “suffer well” it sounds like a contradiction in terms, but God does call us to suffer well. We don’t want to suffer well – we don’t want to suffer at all. We can mistakenly believe that we deserve a better life than the one we have. Disappointment with the way things have actually turned out versus what we wanted or envisioned for our lives can lead to anger, bitterness, discontent and resentment. The further we go down that path the longer God will keep us right where we are. How can we suffer well? 

Often, we ask the wrong question: How can I avoid trials? The truth is that we can’t avoid trials. Trials are inevitable as Jesus told His disciples; I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world. John 16:33 CSB  So the question we should be asking is: How can I change the way I respond to hard times? Can I begin to respond in such a way that I am not overcome by emotions of dread? Here are a couple of things to remember to help when going through trials:

Reflect on the Purpose of Trials and Suffering - Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.  James 1:2-4 CSB God uses the worst times of life to make the best for our lives. We have all seen it - a life torn apart by divorce, trauma and tragedy, or any number of things - becomes the birth of a whole new life for someone. A life they never thought they would see because of what they were experiencing. God often has to do some demolition work in our hearts and lives before He can build what He planned for us all along. He has to get out all the moldy, old, ruined parts we have built so He can make it something beautiful and new. He will. He never wastes anything. And the end result? Endurance and a mature, complete faith in him.

Seek God’s Wisdom During Trials and Suffering - Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. James 1:5 CSB When the unexpected trials of life how do you respond? What is your first reaction? How are we to pray –– what should we ask God for?  James gives the answer, Pray for WISDOM! Wisdom is more than knowledge.  Someone has said that knowledge is the ability to take things apart, while wisdom is the ability to put them together. Wisdom is using knowledge rightly. 

If you are in a long season of struggling in difficult circumstances, think about the answers to these questions:

What is God teaching you during this time? 

How is he already using you in your current difficult circumstances? 

How has he blessed you? Blessings and suffering can co-exist so look for those blessings instead of only seeing the struggle and pain. 

Are you suffering well?

Jesus did tell us that we will have trials but take heart – he has overcome the world. We can suffer well because we know he has already been where we are and conquered. He is already victorious. That victory is ours in him. This is how we can suffer well.

Surrendering to God in Trials and Tragedy

 Monday, June 24, 2024

Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide in times of trouble? In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims; let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings; the one who is greedy curses and despises the Lord. Psalm 10:1-3

Surrendering to God in Trials and Tragedy

How should we respond to a fallen world and how should we approach God in the midst of it?

There are many things in the world today that create worry and anxiety – the news, world events, evil in the world… And then there are the difficult, painful, and tragic circumstances we sometimes have to endure in our personal lives. We can find ourselves wondering where God is and how could he possible let these things happen. We can even tell ourselves that we have done something that caused the circumstances or that God does not care about us anymore. Our human minds have trouble reconciling a loving, caring, life-giving God with circumstances that he had the power to control or keep from happening.  We know that He is powerful enough to stop any tragedy or illness or suffering of any kind.  We know that He can keep anything bad from ever happening to us or anyone we love.  So why doesn’t he and how do we handle this? Where is God in the midst of tragedy? Senselessness? Injustice? 

 

How should we approach God in the midst of this broken world? Honestly. We should approach God honestly with our questions, grief, frustrations, and complaints. When we bring this all to him and surrender, it turns to lament.  A Lament is “A cry of distress in which the psalmist expresses the suffering and disappointment of life in a fallen world. Complaint turns to lament with us when we leave it with him.  Surrender is the only way. Like we heard last week – If we know God, we will trust God. If we trust God, we will seek God. We will surrender to a God we know, trust, and seek. 

 

God cannot contradict himself. If we believe that he is who he says he is, then we will believe he will fulfill his promises. We will believe that he will do what he says he will do because he cannot contradict himself. He cannot lie. So we can surrender to a God we can trust to keep his promises. What promises? Some of God’s promises are:

 

Promise of peace: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, “I am going away and coming back to you.” If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, “I am going to the Father,” for My Father is greater than I. (John 14:27–28)

 

Promise of love, forgiveness, and eternal life: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16–17)

 

Promise of help carrying burdens: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)

 

Promise of giving us what is best for us: We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

 

He will keep his promises. He promises that he will work all things together for good – he has good plans – the best plans. He will let us make our own plans and do what we want instead of what following his will for our lives. If we want his best plans for our lives, we have to surrender our own plans. Even in the middle of pain and heartbreak that we don’t understand we know we can trust his plans for us. When we can surrender to him, we can rest in him and find peace in him, no matter what our circumstances are. 

 

We don't know why God sometimes heals and other times he doesn't, why he allows injustice and cruelty and people get away with it. Where is he in the midst of the difficult times? He is with us. He never leaves our side. He goes through everything with us. 

  

Can you think back to a time when you saw his hand in your life? Remembering God's faithfulness in the past can help us get through hard times. Lean into the God you know and can trust. Find peace in his presence and rest in him.