leaning on him

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book 2)- - 1

leaning on him

Psalm 71:4-6 (JDV)

Psalm 71:4 Deliver me, my God, from the power of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive
Psalm 71:5 because you are my hope, Lord Yahveh, my confidence from my youth.
Psalm 71:6 I have leaned on you from birth; you took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is always about you.

leaning on him

What does it mean to lean on the Lord? It means that you can stand in his power, not your own. The psalmist learned to do that from his youth, because God took him and made himself available to him as a source of stability, hope and confidence. He can do the same for us.

LORD, we choose to lean on you.

Posted in dependence upon God, prayer | Tagged | Leave a comment

safe and saved

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book 2)- - 1

safe and saved

Psalm 71:1 Lord, I seek refuge in you; let me never be disgraced.
Psalm 71:2 In your justice, deliver and help me escape; listen closely to me and rescue me.
Psalm 71:3 Be a rock of refuge for me, where I can always go. Give the command to rescue me, because you are my rock and fortress.

safe and saved

This psalm declares dependence upon God for safety — a rock and fortress to escape to in times of distress and danger. But it also asks God to give the command to rescue. It asks for deliverance as well as escape, to be safe and to be saved.

Lord, thank you for being a place we can hide, until your power prevails over our enemies.

Posted in deliverance, dependence upon God | Tagged | Leave a comment

loving his salvation

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book 2)- - 1

loving his salvation

Psalm 70:4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; let those who love your salvation continually say, “God is great!”
Psalm 70:5 I am oppressed and needy; hurry to me, God. You are my help and my deliverer; Yahveh, do not delay.

loving his salvation

The question for myself today is: Do I love his salvation? I want to start there, because it is so easy for me to talk about loving God and have other reasons in the back of my mind. When I am at my worst — totally strung out on problems I am facing at work, can I still cling to the God of my salvation, and declare that he is great?

I think, sometimes those problems are allowed to come into my life as a sort-of test to see if my joy at just being saved will be enough to sustain me. In the middle of my stressful situation that oppresses me and reminds me of my need, can I stop and say “God is great!?

Lord, I trust you with my current mess, and I declare in the midst of it that you are great!

Posted in faith, suffering | Tagged | Leave a comment

turn them back

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book 2)- - 1

turn them back

Psalm 70:1-3 (JDV)

Psalm 70:132 God, hurry to rescue me. Yahveh, hurry to help me!
Psalm 70:2 Let those who seek to kill me be disgraced and confounded; let those who wish me harm be turned back and humiliated.

Psalm 70:3 Let those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.

turn them back

What joy it is to note all the people and things in your life that are determined to undermine your faith, and and to see God turn them back. What glorious failure it is when the enemy fails to defeat you. This is a way for us to pray. It doesn’t ignore our problems. It brings them to God seeking rescue.

Often our prayers for ourselves and our loved ones miss this step. After we have told our Savior just what is hindering us, we should ask God to rescue us from it.

Lord, turn our problems back in shame and defeat. Reign over us in victory.

Posted in enemies, prayer | Tagged | Leave a comment

saving Zion

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book2) - 1

saving Zion

Psalm 69:34-36 (JDV)

Psalm 69:34 Let the sky and the land praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them,
Psalm 69:35 because God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah. They will live there and possess it.
Psalm 69:36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will live in it.

saving Zion

David’s confidence was in God, and that he would make good on his promise to save Zion and build up the cities of Judah.

How confident are you that God has invested in the land where you live? Do you think God does not care about it? Remember, he has placed you there. We are ambassadors for Christ in the foreign lands we are living in. He has a purpose for us here, because he has a plan to save our land and build up the cities in it. Our mission in life is to be involved in that mission. Our purpose is to set ourselves to work doing what he has planned.

Lord, thank you for loving the land we are in. Show us how to bring our land to your salvation.

Posted in confidence, missions | Leave a comment

he listens to the needy

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book2) - 1

he listens to the needy

Psalm 69:29-33 (JDV)

Psalm 69:29 But as for me – poor and in pain – let your rescue protect me, God.
Psalm 69:30 I will praise God’s name with song and exalt him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:31 That will please Yahveh more than an ox, more than a bull with horns and hooves.
Psalm 69:32 The humble will see it and rejoice. You who seek God, revive your heart!
Psalm 69:33 You see, Yahveh listens to the needy and does not despise his own who are prisoners.

he listens to the needy

What do you do when you are poor and in pain? Do you hock your last valuable thing to buy a bull ox? Nah, you sing a song of praise, and trust God for rescue. Being needy is not a barrier to God’s rescue. He listens to the needy.

Thank you Lord, for your loving rescue.

Posted in dependence upon God, poverty, prayer | Leave a comment

the one you struck

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book2) - 1

the one you struck

Psalm 69:22-28 (JDV)

Psalm 69:22 Let their table set before them be a snare, and let it be a trap for their allies.
Psalm 69:23 Let their eyes grow too dim to see, and let their hips continually quake.
Psalm 69:24 Pour out your rage on them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
Psalm 69:25 Make their camp desolate; may no one live in their tents.
Psalm 69:26 You see, they persecute the one you struck and talk about the pain of those you wounded.
Psalm 69:27 Charge them with crime on top of crime; do not let them share in your righteousness.
Psalm 69:28 Let them be erased from the book of life and not be recorded with the righteous.

the one you struck

David’s experience led to his seeing himself as the one Yahveh struck, and he prays that God brings justice to his persecutors. But his words also foresee a future Messiah who would be struck because of God’s plan. Those who persecute him and his followers would suffer and die permanently. They will be erased from the book of life.

Unbeliever, are you prepared for that fate. Is your obstinate rebellion against Christ and his gospel worth your life? Come to Jesus today! He wants to give you life. The alternative is permanent death.

Lord, draw people to yourself by our witness. We know your justice will demand that many be erased from your book of life, but help us to rescue as many as we can from that fate.

Posted in eternal life, Jesus Christ, persecution | Tagged | Leave a comment

waiting for sympathy

Posted on June 19, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book2) - 1

waiting for sympathy

Psalm 69:19-21 (JDV)

Psalm 69:19 You know the insults I endure – my shame and disgrace. You are aware of all my rivals.
Psalm 69:20 Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I waited for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, but found no one.
Psalm 69:21 Instead, they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

waiting for sympathy

Both David and Jesus experienced abuse with no sympathy. When our Lord was suffering on the cross, they wouldn’t even give him water to drink, but forced him to taste the bitterness of the vinegar.

There will probably be times in your life when you can taste the vinegar, as well. You have to trust God during those times. He has not forgotten you, nor has he forsaken you, even when you have no comfort from others.

Lord, may our awareness of your presence help us to endure the times when we get no comfort from others.

Posted in compassion, presence of God | Tagged | Leave a comment

why we should pray

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book2) - 1

why we should pray

Psalm 69: (JDV)

Psalm 69:16 Answer me, Yahveh, because your covenant faithfulness is good. In keeping with your abundant compassion, turn to me.
Psalm 69:17 Don’t hide your face from your servant, because I am in distress. Answer me quickly!
Psalm 69:18 Come near to me and redeem me; deliver me because of my enemies.

why we should pray

Why should we pray? Three reasons. First, God’s covenant faithfulness is good, and our prayers set his love in motion. Secondly, we get in distress by the things that happen to us. They make us think that God is hiding his face. We need his responses to our prayers to remind us that he will not leave us — that he will always be there for us. Thirdly, God is glorified when we prevail over our enemies. This includes actual adversaries and things like hardship and death which are also counted as our enemies. God’s reputation is at stake when the enemies have the upper hand.

Therefore, pray!

Lord, thank you that you have given us access to your throne. Show us how to consistently avail ourselves of this privilege.

Posted in prayer | Tagged | Leave a comment

down in the mud

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Psalms (book2) - 1

down in the mud

Psalm 69:13-15 (JDV)

Psalm 69:13 But as for me, Yahveh, my prayer to you is for a time of favor. In your abundant, covenant faithfulness, God, answer me with your sure rescue.
Psalm 69:14 Rescue me from the miry mud; don’t let me sink. Let me be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep water.
Psalm 69:15 Don’t let the floodwaters sweep over me or the deep swallow me up; don’t let the Pit close its mouth over me.

down in the mud

What do you do when you are down in the mud, and you think you are going to sink? Do what David did. Cry out to God in prayer. He is invested in you. He gave his Son to die in your place on Calvary’s cross. He sent his Holy Spirit to empower you for a mission to reach the nations with his gospel. David was down in the mud, but he had no intention of staying there. He called out to the God who had rescued him in the past. He called out to the God who has a purpose for his life. David knew that he did not have the power himself to pull himself out of the pit. But he knew someone who does have that power, and so do we.

Lord, don’t let us sink!

Posted in deliverance, prayer | Tagged | Leave a comment