I’m tempted to type down what I scribbled from yesterday, before jumping into today’s Psalm and Proverbs. But, hey, we’re running off of an endorphin high here, and I’m thinking, let’s just go with things as they come…
…and right now, I’m wanting to go through our usual set of Scriptures before playing catch-up.
Besides, I like today’s Psalm.
Thank You Lord, for the reading of Your Word.
Psalm 27
The LORD Is My Light and My Salvation
OF DAVID.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Two songs immediately come to mind from this first verse. There’s Everlasting God, originally composed and performed by Andy Chrisman of Church On The Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and then there’s You Are, You Are God by Hillsong United… and yeah, that was way back when Darlene was still with them.
I mean, it’s just beautiful. For us to pause, and start our rejoicing by immediately going for who our God and Father is.
He IS our Light. He IS our Salvation. Jesus is Emmanuel, ‘God with us’, but He is also Yeshua, Joshua, ‘God saves’ – He saves by being with us, one way to see it. What a bright reflection of the powerful grace and salvation bestowed upon us.
With everything that I have before me today, I thank God for these reminders, and I surely take them in: My God is my Father who is my Light. He shines His light upon anything and everything concerning me, concerning all of us, and revelations abound. He sheds light before our eyes, that we would remember we also have the mind of Christ, by which we handle the revelations given to us at any given moment.
Our God is our Father, who is our Salvation. Through Christ, who was born, who died, rose again, and ascended to the eternal heavens, we have been reconciled to the one and only Creator, the God of Israel; We have been made so righteous that we are able to call this God of gods our wonderful Father, who, along with Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are willing and able to help us in even the smallest of situations, down to the smallest of details – for the unity of the Body, for the expansion of His Kingdom, and for the glory of His name.
Oh, in all that’s happening to me now, all that’s within sight, all that’s about to happen, all that I’m causing to happen, I give our God the glory! For He is our Father, who is also our Stronghold, our Fortress, our Tower, to whom we run, in whom we are safe.
2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
Glory to the name of God, for He watches over us; Thanks be to God, for Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd; He keeps us so safe, so blatantly secure that we are not afraid; We can let our guard down and eat what our Good Shepherd lovingly prepared for us, before our enemies, who can only watch while we relax, gnashing their teeth as we are anointed with oil, groomed and cared for.
Thanks be to God, for Jesus Christ; for we may be surrounded, and those who declare themselves our enemies may be so close to us, but they are the ones who stumble. They are the ones who fall.
4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
And so as we have no cause for anxiety over what the enemy can do to us, and as we have no reason to fear, we revel in the perfect love of our God – enjoying the presence of our Father, which was given to us by way of Christ and His finished work. We dwell in the house of the LORD, because we ourselves have been re-made and recreated as Temples of the Holy Spirit, enjoying the Truth – that we are in the presence of the LORD, and the presence of the LORD is in us, even in this fallen reality.
We are safe in the perfect love of our Father, which casts out all fear. The more we take this in, the more we are bold and confident to proclaim, to ourselves, to those around us, and to the rest of the world, of the goodness of the LORD, expressed and demonstrated by our full and complete salvation.
7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.
We continue to give thanks to God, because even if those we hold close to our hearts suddenly disappear, we remain in our Father’s presence… and in His presence, not only is there vindication, not only is there fullness of joy, but there is also interaction – that is, He hears us, and we seek Him.
We seek His face, and we are not cast off, we are not forsaken. We have been accepted, and we have been taken in. Through Christ, we are thankful for this Truth in our lives; even if we are blocked with no clear reason, rejected without clarification, ghosted and left confused, even then we find cause to see – He was always with us all this time, and will never leave us.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.
Not only are we well taken care of in His presence, but we are taught – being given the mind of Christ, we continue to meditate on His word, and we continue to bear fruit in season, as trees planted by the riverside. And all this is going on, even if our enemies threaten to harm us and destroy us violently; Granted, they may be able to reach us and impact us in some way or form, but it is the lovingkindness of our Father that endures forever.
Sorrow may come in the night but joy comes in the morning.
We can look at the tragedies before us with confidence, peace and understanding, knowing that it shall pass away, but Christ’s word shall stand forever.
13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
All glory and honor, power and praise to the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We wait on our God, and we shall not be moved; We wait on our Father, and we shall renew our strength.
We trust in God, and we shall not be put to shame.
For all that’s happening, we acknowledge the Lord. Yes, we recognize our Father moving in and through all of it, knowing that He remains glorious and gracious through it all.
And as we continue to dwell on Him and His word, we know that He shall establish our thoughts. He directs our steps. He directs our paths.
He will never leave us. He will never forsake us. Nothing can ever separate us from His love.
Thank You, Father.
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.Proverbs 27:5-6
Sometimes, love is better expressed by way of rebuke – painful as it may be for both giver and receiver, sometimes it works out better for both in the long run.
Of course, there’s always a better way for us to say things, even if they are rebukes. This is where the grace of God, expressed by Christ through all sorts of situations as written in the Gospels, takes center stage.
By His grace, we are gracious in our own speech. And it all flows from His perfect love that casts out all fear.
11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who reproaches me.Proverbs 27:11
Oftentimes we say that nobody wins an argument, but there will be moments when arguments are inevitable, and our speech is more emotional, seemingly less gracious. Reproach may be inevitable.
However, until then, apparently we would do well to understand that wisdom comes with gladness; We would do well to appreciate how we have the mind of Christ, especially when it really matters. We reflect on the wisdom that God gives us, so we are ready with gracious response, in sudden conflict.
17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.Proverbs 27:17
And, of course, let’s not forget that as we sharpen ourselves in times of peace, so we encourage and sharpen each other as well, reminding each other of the Word, edifying each other in the Spirit.
For who knows if it’ll be us or our brethren who encounter conflict later in the day?
I mean, just putting all we’re reflecting on here and now, we’d really do well to know and naturally appreciate that we are in the presence of our Almighty Father, just as His Spirit is alive and powerfully present in us, at every given moment.
Granted, we aren’t in constant conflict – we may be put under pressure by the world’s relentless outpouring of data, but we aren’t always in constant conflict; But God, our Father, is constantly faithful; He is faithfully consistent.
That alone just puts me in my place, when I’m out of place. It holds me together, when I’m all over the place. Definitely thankful in advance for His powerful presence as the rest of the day unfolds.
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.
22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him.Proverbs 27:21-22
Indeed, we shall continue to praise the Lord in our tests and trials… and we do it for the sake of the world, particularly the world that denies Christ, the world that is stuck with its folly, plagued in its condemnation.
We continue to revel in our bright salvation, especially in the darkness. We continue to praise and thank our Father, as He is our Stronghold; we are safe, though we are surrounded; we are well taken care of, no matter how chaotic things seem.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,
And give him the glory, great things he hath done!
God bless you!
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