Psalm 66:5

Come and see the works of God, {Who is} awesome in {His} deeds toward the sons of men.

     We serve an awesome God. Our God created the heavens and the earth and all that dwells in them in seven days. He wiped out almost all living things with a world wide flood. He rose a lowly Hebrew man to the right hand of Pharoah, the most powerful king of that time. He brought a subjugated people out from the might Egyptians with them raising a sword or a bow. He parted the seas twice so His people could walk over on dry land.

     He had the Israelites defeat their enemies, sometimes again without a sword raised. He was able to cause droughts for years by stopping the rains. Then on His command it rained again. He did this among many other great historical feats. Even more amazing is that He conquered death, allowing man to overcome their sin and still have eternal life. Of all of God’s feat that took more power than them all.

     When we look at God and see His great power, we should be encouraged. We serve a God who has done all of these things and so much more. When we get discouraged and lose hope, we should turn to God. Whenever there seems to be know way out, we know that there is a God who makes the impossible possible. Our God is an awesome God, and we should be filled with hope knowing all of His great strength is on our side.

Come and see the works of God, {Who is} awesome in {His} deeds toward the sons of men.

Luke 2:20

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

     The fact of the matter is that no one knows the true date that Christ was born. There are some evidences that point against Jesus being born in December, but there is no clear answer as to when exactly He was born. However, today is a day that by many is celebrated as Christ’s birthday. While we may not agree with them on their timeframe, there is no doubt that the birth of Christ is an event to be praised.

     Jesus’ birth was one of the most important events in the history of mankind. In Luke 2 we see that the angels even are praising His coming. This marks the beginning of God’s plan coming to fruition. The angels were not sure what God’s plan of salvation for mankind was. They were longing to know. When they saw that Christ had come into the world, they realized that the time had come. Not only that, but God had come to earth. The veil of darkness was about to be removed, for the light of God had come into the world.

     The death and resurrection are the two most important events in history. The represent God’s power and God’s forgiveness. The simple fact of the matter is that Jesus could not have been crucified had he not been born. Jesus was appointed our High Priest because He was in a like nature as us. This could not have been the case if He was not born to Mary. This does not even touch the miraculous nature of the birth. The birht of Christ was God coming to earth and dwelling among men before He eventually saved them. Praise to the Lord!

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Jonah 2:6

“I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars {was} around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

     Jonah was an Old Testament prophet whom the Lord called from the Israelites to go and preach to the Assyrians. The Assyrians were sworn enemies of God’s people. Because of this, Jonah did not want to go and preach to them. He knew that if the word of God was shown to these people they might repent. If they repented, God’s judgment would be put on hold. Since Jonah wanted them to be punished, he was hesitant to be involved in their repentance.

     To fix this problem, Jonah decided to leave. He tried to run away from God. He even got on a boat. Yet God was always there. Because Jonah disobeyed God, God brought judgment on Jonah by way of storm. This storm threatened to capsize the vessel. Jonah’s fellow passengers were doing everything they could to save the ship and themselves. Yet it was all to no avail because God was calling for Jonah’s repentance. No matter how far Jonah ran, he was not going to be able to escape the Lord.

     Yet that fact, which would have been very discouraging to Jonah as he was trying to run away, is what saved him. When he had the fellow shipmen throw him overboard to stop the storm, Jonah thought he was okay dying rather than obeying God. In the depths of the water he changed his mind. He prayed to God for salvation. Luckily for him, there was no place he could go that God was not there. God heard his prayer and offered salvation. No matter where we are, God can rescue us from sin and death. He is only a prayer away.

“I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars {was} around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

Titus 2:11

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.

     In 1 Samuel 11, King David commits such terrible acts that most people would be ashamed to know him. He commits adultery, tries to be deceitful about it, intentionally gets another man drunk, and then commits murder. How many dinner guests have you had recently with that type of rap sheet? If someone were to have done such injustices today, he would probably not be well received by many people.

     Saul of Tarsaus was in much the same boat. However he had a personal war against God’s work, the church. He was trying to thwart meaning from preaching the Gospel message. He threatened them and even stood by at the brutal murder of Stephen. Not content to just cause problems for the church in Jerusalem, he asked for permission to follow Christians and persecute them there. Without a doubt he was an enemy to all that God was trying to accomplish.

     What is interesting about these two characters is how pivotal they are to the Biblical landscape. David was the kings to whom all other kings had their righteousness compared. Paul became an apostle who wrote over a third of the New Testament books. How could such vile sinners be such standards of righteousness? The grace of God. No matter what sins we have committed or what evil we have done, we need to remember that God can, and will, forgive those who come to Him with a humble heart.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.

Psalm 27:10

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up.

     The Psalmist praises the Lord for His constant care in this passage. He proclaims the Lord as his light and salvation. He talks about the faithfulness of the Lord to watch over and take care of him in the time of trouble. He knows that if he will seek God, God will seek Him. Then, near the end, the Psalmist compares the Lord to his parents to show the faithfulness of God.

     Parents are the foundation of every child’s life. They are the ones who feed and clothe a child at birth. They protect and provide for him when he can not do so himself. As they grow older, the parents are still the basis for support of their children. A parent looks to help at every corner. If someone ever gets in a jam, they know that they can always call their parents for help and support. A parent may not have much, but they will give what they have.

     Yet even parents are human. They are not perfect. The do not compare to God, and even the faithfulness of God. Despite the great love of a parent, there are times when the love falters. God’s love never does. God’s love is greater than even that of a parent. Even at the point where a father would forsake his son, God goes further. His love is so strong that it over powers even the greatest bond that we have to offer. This is of great comfort to all of us, because we know that no matter what happens, God still loves us.

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up.

Habakkuk 1:13

{Your} eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness {with favor.} Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?

God has a plan for everything. He knows what it is He wishes to accomplish and what it takes to accomplish that. Habakkuk is a great example of this. Habakkuk calls out to God for judgment upon the Jews. So many of them had become evil forfieting justice that Habakkuk had a hard time watching it all. He wanted God to put them in their place. They deserved punishment, and he called upon the Lord to bring it.

     Much to Habakkuk’s suprise, God already had a plan for these evil men to punished. He was going to bring the Chaldeans over and they would execute His judgment. Habakkuk was completely taken aback by this. He could not believe that God would allow the Chaldeans to have rule over the Jews. The Jews were wicked, no doubt,  but they were still a far cry from the Chaldeans.

In response to Habakkuk’s outcry God tells him that he will just have to trust in God. Many times we look at the world around us and we see evil men prevading the land. We wonder when God will execute judgment. Sometimes when He does we question His method. Yet we have to remember that we do not know as much as He does. We just have to submit and trust His judgment. If we will do so, God will deliver us safely to our heavenly abode.

{Your} eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness {with favor.} Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?

Matthew 6:19

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

     When I first rented my apartment, it was stressed to me the need for renter’s insurance. By getting this, I would be secured in case of a fire or if someone broke in. That way if it was lost, I would get compensation for my possessions. The fact that this was told to me by many people on many occasions tells us an underlying truth: physical blessings are perishable.

     Think about all the different possessions that we own. Think of how many we need or might desire insurance for. At times we can get very excited about the things that we own. We want to show our friends and our neighbors. It gives us a sense of satisfaction to own things. None of this is bad, but it could lead to these things becoming the treasures of our heart. However, we need to remember that anything that needs insurance is by its very nature fleeting.

     That is why Jesus tells us to make heaven our treasure. Everything about this life is fleeting, even life itself. We may die at any moment. Everything we own can be taken away from us. That is why we need to invest in spiritual treasure. It will not be destroyed by a fire. No thief can come and steal it while we are on vacation. It is the ultimate insurance. By investing in it, we are setting ourselves up for the life after this one. No matter what else we may lose, we can always take solace in our spiritual treasures awaiting for us in heaven.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Romans 8:26

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for {us} with groanings too deep for words;

     One day I was left all alone with my six month old neice. While at first she seemed just fine playing in her chair, all of the sudden she started crying. She would not stop. The first thing I did was try to walk around holding her, knowing that sometimes help. She continued to cry.  I tried to change her daiper hoping that would solve the problem. It did not.

     We continued this guessing game for a while. I tried putting on her sock and jacket, since I noticed that her feet were cold. Finally her grandma came in, and she was happy to see her and then quickly fell asleep. In all honesty, I still do not know what it was that was bothering her. It could have been all the things I was trying to fix. It could have been that she was sleepy and fighting sleep. It could be that she wanted a woman around. I have no way of knowing.

     In our lives, sometimes we feel like my neice when we are talking to God. There is something wrong in our lives. We are hurting or we are scared or we are uncomfortable. Yet when we try to explain it to people, or to God, it really does not make sense, even to ourselves. We just know something is wrong and we are trying to get it fixed. Luckily for us though, we have a translator: the Holy Spirit. He tells God what we are trying to say in a way that we never could express. Then God is able to help exactly as only he can. We need to thank the Lord that He has given us such a translator.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for {us} with groanings too deep for words;

1 Samuel 17:37

And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”

     The story of David and Goliath is used so often today that at times it tarnishes the meaning. Think about how many times it is used pertaining to sports. Sometimes it is used when two athletes of varying size compete, which at least has some relevance. Often times, though, it is used for a team that supposedly outmatches the other in every area. It has been relegated to a story of long odds.

     It would be dangerous to think that just any common day situation, especially sports, is equivalant to David and Goliath. It is not as if David out hustled Goliath. It’s not as though David had a few lucky bounces go his way. Instead it was the power of the almighty God that brought victory. David’s faith in the Lord was truly the key. Had he relied on his own power, he would have surely lost. Yet by leaning on the strength of the Lord, David was able to overcome. This is vastly different than how must people use the story today.

     As Christians we can take hope in David’s victory. We do have a similar situation ourselves. We have an intimidating enemy as well. That enemy is Satan. He is walking about as a roaring lion, trying to devour us. If we were to rely on our own strength, there is no doubt that we would fail. Yet we do not have to trust ourselves. We can be like David and trust in the Lord to help us overcome. Like David, we still have to face the enemy and fight. But if we realize that we have God’s power on our side, we have the assurance of victory.

 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”

Psalm 62:8

Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

     One of the greatest blessings that any of us can have is a true friend. Someone once said that a true friend is one who knows all of your faults but loves you anyway. There is much truth in that statement. A friend is someone we can confide in openly. We do not have to have fear about telling them our secrets. We know that they will not think of us as a rambling idiot, even if we sound just like one. Instead there is a trust there that we can tell them anything.

     The Psalmist here points out that we should be able to do that with God. The poetic language here is vivid. “Pour out your heart to God.” This is not a small, guarded request we make before the Lord. We will do that with people sometimes, to make sure that they are “safe”, that they will not mock us or hurt us for asking such questions or sharing such details. It takes us a while for us to feel comfortable to really pour out our hearts.

     With God, we can have the trust that is needed to open up. When we look in our present lives we can see all the blessings He has given us every day. We can see from history (i.e. the Bible) all the things He has done for us in times past. When we take not of these things, it should give us confidence that God truly does love and care for us. We can pour out whatever we want or need to Him. He will never think of us as silly for doing so. He wants us to talk to Him. We should trust Him enought that we can pour our hearts out to Him. He is worthy of it.

Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.