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Psalms Shepherd
Week 14 Day 1
Reading: Psalms 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Thought: In this simple Psalm David outlines his experience of the goodness of God no matter how good or bad times have been. God is often related to by metaphor and in this verse we see God depicted as the good shepherd; one who watches over us, protects us, leads us and sustains us. David was a shepherd so naturally he could relate very well to this metaphor. The response “I shall not want” represents dependency on God as the sheep depend on the shepherd, sheep learn the voice of the shepherd, sheep follow the shepherd and the shepherd knows best. How does your life reflect the fact that God is your shepherd? Do you know his voice? NASB
Prayer: Lord lead me, sustain me and protect me from evil. Teach me to recognise your voice and follow your leading.
Clean Hearts
Day 2
Reading: Psalms 51:2;10-12 “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin… Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”
Thought: Here we hear David having been caught in the act of adultery and murder. He falls into a deep repentance after God sends him Nathan to expose his sin. David pleads with God not to remove His presence and Spirit. David’s selfish acts of sin resulted in harm to those around him and ultimately his relationship with God. David’s feelings are laid bare and he falls on the mercy of God. All of our sin does this and we all have times where we fall before God in repentance, God sees our hearts and because of His great love He cleanses us and saves us in an act of grace and mercy. His presence is the blessing that comes from being made clean and is the power to hold us steadfast in our faith. This blessing of His presence is one of the supreme joys of life itself, something we were made for. This Psalm is one of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation with God for all sinners. Is there anything you need to repent of?
Prayer: Father forgive me for the sin I have not repented for and keep me steadfast by your presence in my life. Help me to cultivate a steadfast spirit and a life that ushers me into Your presence where there is fullness of joy.
In Everything
Day 3
Reading: Psalm 137:1 “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.” ESV
Thought: The Jews were in exile in Babylon following their breach of faith. The walls of Jerusalem were left in ruin and the Temple built by Solomon had been burned to the ground. But the Babylonians had not only destroyed the physical, but also the faith of the Jewish nation. With the Temple, the house of God destroyed, it could only mean that God was not with them and had left. There was no sacrifice, no Passover, no teaching from the Scribes. Away from Jerusalem they longed for it, making it into their greatest joy, an idol. The Jews had lost their identity, and at the taunts of the Babylonians they forgot the Law, the commandments of the Lord. They thought that they could not worship Him because they were not at His Temple. Have we ever been so caught up in our own lives and in the words of others that we forget to worship the Lord for everything He does?
Prayer: Lord, never let me forget to worship You; never let me be so wrapped up in the problems of my life that I do not hand it over to You and glorify Your Name. Lord, ever be the first in my heart and my greatest joy.
The Suffering Saviour
Day 4
Reading: Psalms 22:1;27 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning… All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before You.”
Thought: This is a prophetic Psalm, the work of Christ foretold long before the Crucifixion, it brings us not only a prophecy of what was to happen to Jesus but also sheds light on the hope that He had while on the cross. That families, nations, people will return to the Lord, not though selfish ambition or a desire to get what they want from God, but because of the love and self-sacrifice of the saviour Jesus. Worship, true worship, is an act of the will in whole hearted adoration of the object of worship. Ghandi once said “A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.” Isn’t it wonderful that
God doesn’t just say He loves us, He proves it, He doesn’t just tell us to worship, He makes it irresistible.
Prayer: Lord I sit in awe of your wonderful love, thank you for enduring the cross and being driven by love for me and my family. Thank you for all you have done for me in my life and help me to find you more irresistible every day.
Repeated Affirmation
Day 5
Reading: Psalm 136:1 “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” ESV
Thought: Life is hard, but it helps to remember, that no matter what we're going through; it might be hard, and it might be tough, but His steadfast love does endure forever. We should be reminding ourselves of what He has already brought us through this far, remembering that His steadfast love does endure forever. Give thanks to the LORD, because He is good, and because His steadfast love does endure forever. And if it doesn't ring true in you after the first time you say it, keep saying it until it does, because His steadfast love does endure forever. This Psalm is just that, the Psalmist repeats the phrase, "His steadfast love endures forever" reminding himself of what God has accomplished in his life and in the life of the nation of Israel. This act can be a tool for ourselves to increase in faith by declaring to ourselves what He has done in our lives, and declaring to ourselves of why these things have happened, because His steadfast love endures forever.
Prayer: Thank you Lord that Your steadfast love endures forever. That no matter what is happening around me, Your steadfast love endures forever. That in my hour of need Your steadfast love endures forever. That in my hour of plenty Your steadfast love endures forever. Thank you Lord that Your steadfast love endures forever.
God’s Majesty
Day 6
Reading: Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” ESV
Thought: How often have we just stopped and taken a minute to marvel at the creation, to glorify the Lord in what He has made? Have you listened for the words which the creation pours out, praising the name of the Lord? The creation speaks of the wonders of our God, but not with words or speech, but inspiring our hearts and minds. Have we stopped to think about how wonderful it is that the Earth rotates to give us day and night, that it orbits the Sun to give us seasons, and the Sun orbits about Galactic Central Point. How wonderful is it that in this universe of a billion galaxies than God has chosen us, put His
Word with us, given us His Law and His testimony! How wonderful is that Word and that Law that revives the soul, brings wisdom and guides the heart! How wonderful more so is it that with all our disobedience and reluctance to do righteously, that the Lord does not submit us to His wrath but waits patiently bringing many to adoption as children of God and into salvation in His Son.
Prayer: Lord, how wondrous You are. You set the heavens in their place and established the earth in them! Glory be to Your Name which is exalted above the heavens! Holy are You Lord, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love! You are my rock of salvation! Thank You Lord for all You have worked, and more so for my good.
Light
Day 7
Reading: Psalm 119:105 “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” NASB Thought: How often in life do we feel lost? No sense of direction and we sit there thumbing through the Bible for direction as if God should have a word for us there and then? Did you find what you were looking for? Is life really about us sporadically looking for God’s guidance before merrily going back to a sense of security that we know the way again? Have you ever been for a walk in the wood or a dark area at night with a torch? Did you only turn the torch on when you got confused? No… In fact you would use the torch the entire time to know where you are and be able to spot hazards and the path itself. None of us would use a torch sporadically in the pitch black, so why do we sometimes use the Bible this way? If you are looking for a light to your path, stop using the Bible like a signpost and start using it like a lamp that you keep switched on and shedding light on your world for your entire life journey.
Prayer: Lord help me to dig deep into your Word so that it will bring light to every area of my life at all times.