In step

[RiverOL]

Help Is on the Way
David became greater and greater for the LORD God of hosts was with him. —2 Samuel 5:10, NASB
David returned home to Ziklag one day to find that he and his men had lost everything. All was gone, taken by the Amalekites, even their children and wives. His men were so angry that they wanted to stone David, but David knew that help was on the way, and he “strengthened himself in the LORD his God”(1 Samuel 30:6 NKJV).

David prayed, worshiped, and called on his priest Abiathar for counsel. He marched 600 of his men 15 miles to the brook Besor. Two hundred of the men stopped there because they were exhausted. The remaining 400 joined him to hunt the Amalekites who had done this.

On the side of the road, David had found an Egyptian who had been left to die by the Amalekites. David had compassion on him, giving him food and water. The Egyptian knew where the enemy was and because of David’s kindness gave David this invaluable information. David’s men followed and regained everything that the Amalekites had taken and more.

The Prayer of David is called a “Warrior’s Psalm” to be prayed before going into battle, a prayer for victory in battle. In what battles do you need a victory? God is ready!

 

[RiverOL]

Death? Who cares?
For reading & meditation: Job 21:1-9
"Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?" (v.7)

Before moving on, we pause to remind ourselves once more of the question with which the psalmist struggles in Psalm 73: Why is it that the wicked seem to prosper while the path of the righteous is beset by so many difficulties? Look now at how the psalmist views the condition of the ungodly: "They suffer no violent pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they smitten and plagued like other men. Therefore pride is about their neck as a chain; violence covers them as a garment - as a long, luxurious robe" (Psa. 73:4-6, Amplified Bible).

What a graphic description this is of the person who has no time for God, yet goes on from day to day with few troubles. It is probably the most perfect picture in all literature of the so-called successful man of the world. Note that the psalmist begins his description of the ungodly with a reference to the way they die: "They suffer no violent pangs in their death." Throughout time the notion has been universally present that a good life ends in a good death, but the psalmist makes the observation that in his experience the reverse is true. Have you not struggled with these same feelings whenever you have heard of a Christian dying in great agony while a non-Christian passes away peacefully in his sleep? What do you do with those feelings? Ignore them? Deny them? Repress them? Remember, it is only exposed problems that can be resolved. I say again, if you are not willing to face a problem, how can you go about getting it resolved?

Prayer:
O God, save me from denying the difficult problems and feelings I encounter in life. Help me understand that it is easier to deal with things when they are up and out than when they lie buried within. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Giving and Worship
May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.—Psalm 20:3 NLT
David began his ministry celebrating an offering that Samuel had presented to God in Bethlehem. He did not know that the greatest offering ever known would be born in a stable in Bethlehem: the Lamb of God, pure and spotless.

Giving, for David, was an act of worship—ascribing worth to the Lord. Why would God want you to know that giving a tithe and an offering to God is a holy act that commands a blessing on the giver? Because when we give, we are taking on the Nature of God.

God is an extravagant giver. He not only gave us the greatest gift heaven could afford—our Lord—He also blessed those in the Bible who trusted Him! Giving is an act of love and obedience and faith in God, virtues that the prince of this world does not have. God challenges us to prove Him. What a challenge!

 

[RiverOL]

The Last Supper (2)
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together. You know the way to where I am going.”

Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t even know where you are going! How can we know the way?”
“I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. If you had known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him.”
John 14:15-27

Reflect:
The disciples have spent the past three years in Jesus’ company. They have given up their entire lives for him, and Jesus needs them to understand that his death is not a dreadful disaster, not an unfortunate end to a great adventure, but has been a fundamental part of the plan all along. “Don’t be worried!” he says. “Have faith in God and have faith in me.” His death will open the way to the Father.

Respond:
Thank you Father for your great love. Thank you that you sacrificed your son to give me a permanent home with you. Thank you that we can be together for all of eternity. Amen.

Midday Meditation:
‘The way we come to God is the same way that God comes to us. God comes to us in Jesus; we come to God in Jesus…God comes to us in Jesus speaking the words of salvation, healing our infirmities, promising the Holy Spirit, teaching us how to live in the Kingdom of God. It is in and through this same Jesus that we pray to and believe, hear and obey, love and praise God…Jesus is the way of salvation. We follow his way.’
(Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way)

Evening Reflection:
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV)

 

[RiverOL]

Why we are sometimes drained
For reading & meditation: Psalms 19:7-14
"' Clear me from hidden and unconscious faults." (v.12, Amplified Bible)

We said yesterday that exposed problems are the only ones that can be resolved. Is this just an interesting theory, or is it something that can be supported from Scripture? Let me see if I can convince you that this statement has a biblical basis. Come back with me to the Garden of Eden and think again about the questions which God put to the first human pair: "Where are you? ' Who told you that you were naked? ' What is this you have done?" (Gen. 3:9-13). Does anyone believe that God needed to ask those questions in order to gain information for Himself?

Of course not; being omniscient (that is, having all knowledge), He already knew what they had done. Then why did He put those searching personal questions to them? Surely the answer must be that the direct questions encouraged them to face something that they preferred not to look at. God knew that before the problem could be dealt with it must be brought out into the open. Some people may think that by far the best way of dealing with unacceptable thoughts and feelings is to push them back into the unconscious but, as we are now seeing, that is a fallacy. Problems that are buried inside us rather than brought out into the light work to drain us of spiritual energy. It takes a lot of emotional energy to keep things repressed. This is why people who repeatedly use the defence of repression end up feeling overtired. Healthy people are those who, like the psalmist in Psalm 73, bring their thoughts and feelings into awareness - no matter how "unspiritual" those thoughts and feelings may appear to be.

Prayer:
Father, I now begin to see why You bring me face to face with so many disturbing questions, for You know the havoc that is wrought within when issues are ignored or denied. Help me face anything and everything. In Your Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Living Sacrifices
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
—Romans 12:2 NLT

When God says He will remember, it means more than recalling something. It’s memorializing your offering or gift.

The offering was the basis in the Old Testament for answered prayer. Our Lord’s offering became the basis of answered prayer for the world—a spotless Lamb. We are admonished to present our bodies as an offering to God.

And so, dear friend, I plead with you to give your body to God. Let this be a sacrifice—holy—the kind He can accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask?

When you make Jesus Lord of everything, it is only then that you can be sure you have been with Jesus. You can expect a miracle because you are no longer your own; you have surrendered all to Christ.

 

[RiverOL]

The Last Supper (3)
Morning Encounter:
Read:
I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you. If you obey me, I will keep loving you, just as my Father keeps loving me, because I have obeyed him.
I have told you this to make you as completely happy as I am. Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you. The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them. And you are my friends, if you obey me. Servants don’t know what their master is doing, and so I don’t speak to you as my servants. I speak to you as my friends, and I have told you everything that my Father has told me.
You did not choose me. I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last. Then my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. So I command you to love each other.
John 15:9-17

Reflect:
Jesus death on the cross was ultimately an expression of love: ‘the greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them’ (v.13). His words here have incredible power and poignancy; in a few short hours he will put this definition of love into practice. What do you do with the knowledge that someone has died for you? Jesus wants us to take the debt and pay it forward by loving each other.

Respond:
Jesus doesn’t suggest his disciples love each other, he commands it (v.17). Who do you need to love in obedience? Ask the Holy Spirit to help if it seems impossible.

Midday Meditation:
‘Because it is fundamental to human nature to love and seek love, the central purpose of our life with God is learning to love in such a way that all of our heart’s longings- both natural and supernatural- are satisfied. Rightly loving God orders all the other loves common to human existence.’
(Richard Foster, Longing for God)

Evening Reflection:
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eye’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lack’d anything.
A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here:
Love said, You shall be he.
I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on thee.

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?
Truth, Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?

My dear, then I will serve.
You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.

 

[RiverOL]

The roots of some perplexities
For reading & meditation: Isaiah 55:6-13
"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord." (v.8)

We continue examining the psalmist's graphic description of the so-called successful "man of the world": "Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish, and the imaginations of their minds overflow with follies. They scoff and wickedly utter oppression; they speak loftily - from on high, maliciously and blasphemously. They set their mouths against and speak down from Heaven, and their tongue swaggers through the earth - invading even Heaven with blasphemy and smearing earth with slanders" (Psa. 73:7-9, Amplified Bible).

How perfectly these words describe the person who brazenly flaunts his arrogance and rides roughshod over the rights of others. Note the phrase, "their eyes stand out with fatness", or, as the International Bible Commentary puts it: "Their beady eyes bulged through folds of fat as they busily schemed. Superior and cynical, they engaged in malicious talk and threats." We see the same kind of people today -irreligious, self-centred men and women who live only for themselves and view God as an irrelevance. Why does God allow them to get away with such attitudes and behaviour? Perplexing, isn't it? We must realise, however, that it is only perplexing because we are dealing with the ways of an eternal Being whose thoughts and designs are infinitely greater than our own - as the text at the top of this page clearly tells us. Think about this as you make your way through the day: half our perplexities would never arise if we were prepared not to understand immediately the things that God does or the things that God allows.

Prayer:
O Father, what unnecessary perplexities we carry within us because we try to trace the reasons that lie behind Your designs rather than just trust them. Help us in our quest for a more confident faith. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

The Greatest Giver
The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. —Isaiah 55:10 NLT
There is no giver greater than God. He has out-given us all. He wants us to celebrate our giving and make it an act of worship. He wants us to plant our seeds and expect a miracle harvest.

Why? Because the more we are blessed, the more we can be a blessing, as long as our hearts are pure.

A seed is a container of life. Some seeds sit for decades with no growth until something pierces the outer shell so the seed can interact with the soil and water. When a seed dies and sprouts, it can feed millions.

A woman came to Jesus with a costly box of perfume, or “nard,” worth an entire year’s wages. She broke that box directly over Christ’s head so that He would be anointed with every drop of oil. The disciples grumbled that she had wasted money. But Christ was so moved that she had anointed Him for His death, He said that wherever His gospel was preached, the story of her offering would be told. (See John 12:3-7.)

 

[RiverOL]

The Last Supper (4)
Morning Encounter:
Read:
If the people of this world hate you, just remember that they hated me first. If you belonged to the world, its people would love you. But you don’t belong to the world. I have chosen you to leave the world behind, and that is why its people hate you. Remember how I told you that servants are not greater than their master. So if people mistreat me, they will mistreat you. If they do what I say, they will do what you say.

People will do to you exactly what they did to me. They will do it because you belong to me, and they don’t know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin.
Everyone who hates me also hates my Father. I have done things that no one else has ever done. If they had not seen me do these things, they would not be guilty. But they did see me do these things, and they still hate me and my Father too.
John 15:18-24

Reflect:
Jesus wants his followers to be under no illusions about the cost of belonging to him. Most of the men in the room that evening would go on to die for him, and persecution of Christians has continued since. In fact, over the last one hundred years, more people have died for their faith in Christ than all the rest put together. Why are people willing to give their life for this man? It is because he did it for them first, and in doing so he changed the meaning of death, making it a gateway to eternal life.

Respond:
Pray for those undergoing persecution for their faith today. Pray that they will hold firm to hope and bring glory to God.

Midday Meditation:
‘Jesus didn’t want his friends to suffer, but he knew that for them, as for him, suffering was the only and the necessary way to glory... our cup is often so full of pain that joy seems completely unreachable. When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. The sorrow overwhelms us, makes us throw ourselves on the ground, face down, and sweat drops of blood. Then we need to be reminded that our cup of sorrow is also our cup of joy and that one day we will be able to taste the joy as fully as we now taste the sorrow.’
(Henri Nouwen, Can You Drink the Cup?)

Evening Reflection:
‘The LORD makes firm the steps
Of the one who delights in him;
Though he may stumble, he will not
Fall,
For the LORD upholds him with his Hand.
Psalm 37:23

 

[RiverOL]

What's happening!?
For reading & meditation: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
"' perplexed, but not in despair '" (v.8)

Today we stay with the thought that half our spiritual perplexities would never arise if we started out by being prepared not to understand immediately the things that God does or allows. We must accept that one of the fundamental principles of the Christian life is the truth that there will be many times when God will work things out in a manner exactly opposite to the way we think He should. If I had been taught this in the early days of my Christian life, it would have saved me from many spiritual struggles. Most of my perplexities arose because I failed to realise that I was dealing with a mind that is omniscient - that God's mind is not like my mind.

The ways of God are inscrutable; His mind is infinite and eternal and His purposes are beyond understanding. When we are dealing with such a great and mighty God it should not surprise us that He allows things to happen which we find perplexing. If we insist that everything in life should be plain, we shall soon find ourselves in the state in which the psalmist found himself - full of doubt, disillusionment and fear. We should note, however, that perplexity is not necessarily sinful. It only becomes wrong when we allow our perplexity to drive us to despair. The apostle Paul, as our text for today shows us, was perplexed but he was not in despair. Make sure you understand the distinction. It is not foolish or wrong to say: "I don't know what is happening." It is only foolish to say: "God doesn't know what is happening."

Prayer:
O Father, how comforting it is to realise that I can be perplexed and yet not fall into sin. Help me to keep this distinction clear. Drive the truth deep into my spirit today that You always know what is happening. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Want Some Courage?

I press on toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus—Philippians 3:14

In some respects, we know the men we’d like to become. For one, we’d like to be courageous for God, not simply surviving these lives, but living boldly in them. Well, we absolutely can (Romans 8:31-39). The thing is . . . it’s hard. We’re easily distracted—by our drives for achievement and advancement and accumulation. And we’re easily made afraid—that we’ll be embarrassed if we act boldly for God; that we’re not qualified to stand with him; or just that we’ve never done it before and don’t know how to start. Yes, it’s difficult becoming courageous and, actually, it’s meant to be.

God didn’t create two types of men—some cowardly and some courageous. No, he leaves the cowardice/courage decisions to us. That said, we cannot simply choose for courage and instantly become courageous any more than we can instantly become . . . say . . . orators or outdoorsmen. If we want to become either of those, we must practice. We must start small and fail and succeed; we must work and learn. So it is with courage. We become courageous men by practicing courage, by accumulating experiences, small at first, of actually being courageous.

So, there are two types of men, but it’s those willing to practice and those not, resigned instead to lives of safety. The good news, brother, is that becoming the former doesn’t require an inordinate amount of time or a major lifestyle change. It just takes a bit of resolve.



Practice. Do something. Don’t overreach (and set yourself up for failure); but don’t reach too short either (and render your efforts pointless). Choose in the middle—something intimidating, but not overly. Here are some suggestions: face a phobia; spend time with someone the rest of the world avoids; serve in a way you’ve never served before.

 

[RiverOL]

The Last Supper (5)
Morning Encounter:
Read:
After Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up toward heaven and prayed:
Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. Now, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you before the world was created.

John 17:1-5
Reflect:
This prayer gives us extraordinary insight into the understanding Jesus had of who he was and what his purpose in dying was to be. He knew himself to be God’s son (v.1), coexisting with God for all time (v.5), and with God, the one through whom people can have eternal life (v.2). He had been obedient in everything, giving up his rightful glory, and he was about to submit to a horrible death. The disciples had been slowly coming to understand who their Rabbi really was. I wonder if this was the moment they finally saw he was both man and God.

Respond:
Think about the glory of Jesus. Ask the Spirit to help you worship him as he deserves.

Midday Meditation:
Christ is exactly like God,
who cannot be seen.
He is the first-born Son,
superior to all creation.
Everything was created by him,
everything in heaven
and on earth,
everything seen and unseen,

including all forces
and powers,
and all rulers
and authorities.
All things were created
by God’s Son,
and everything was made
for him.
Colossians 1:15,16

Evening Reflection:
‘Power, no matter how well-intentioned, tends to cause suffering. Love, being vulnerable, absorbs it. In a point of convergence on a hill called Calvery, God renounced the one for the sake of the other.’

 

[RiverOL]

I hadn't even seen the accident!
For reading & meditation: Job 9:21-35
"When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges '" (v.24)

The more the psalmist contemplates the condition of the ungodly, the more his perplexity increases. The next verses show him to be upset over the fact that people treat the ungodly with such admiration: "Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, 'How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?' This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth" (Psa. 73:10-12). He observes that because they are so well-admired and well-treated such people say: "Look at how good life is to us! If there is a God, then He doesn't appear to have much interest in the way we live."

A Christian tells of a work colleague, a successful man of the world, who said to him one day: "On my way to work this morning a man stopped me and said 'Are you a Jehovah's Witness?' Why would he ask me that? Why, I hadn't even seen the accident!" The man was quite unaware of who Jehovah was and the question had him completely puzzled. This is what troubles the psalmist in this section of Psalm 73 - he sees people living with no concern for God, yet everything seems to be going so well for them. One can feel his indignation burning through the words he writes. Do you feel indignant about this, or a similar problem? It's not surprising if you do. Be careful, though, that you dont allow it to become your focus of concentration, for it is a law of the personality that you become like the thing you dwell upon.

Prayer:
O Father, if it is true that I become like the thing I focus upon, then help my focus of life not to be indignation at the prosperity of the ungodly but gratitude for the fact that I am an heir to eternity. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Overcoming Despair
Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” —1 Samuel 20:1 ESV

David the hero, the king’s son-in-law, was running for his life! He had defeated Goliath, the giant Philistine, but his second Goliath—Saul—was much more difficult to defeat.
The future king was now the hunted outlaw. Day and night for years, Saul dogged him, just waiting for the moment when David would become vulnerable. The desire of Saul’s heart was to plunge his spear through David. Jealousy turns giants into jerks!

Saul had a golden opportunity to demonstrate greatness when the Israelites sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7 NKJV). He could have taken a bow for sending David into battle. He could have become bigger in the eyes of the people. Instead, he became bitter.
Did David fall into self-pity? Not this man of valor! He trusted Jehovah.
Have you ever found yourself in a pit of despair, hoping against hope that you would be left alone? Step out of the darkness into the brilliant light of God’s Word!

 

[RiverOL]

The Last Supper (6)
Morning Encounter:
Read:
I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.
I have honoured my followers in the same way that you honoured me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world’s people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me.

Father, I want everyone you have given me to be with me, wherever I am. Then they will see the glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the world was created. Good Father, the people of this world don’t know you. But I know you, and my followers know that you sent me. I told them what you are like, and I will tell them even more. Then the love that you have for me will become part of them, and I will be one with them.
John 17:20-26

Reflect:
The small group gathered for the Passover meal in a room in the backstreets of Jerusalem two millennia ago has become a world-wide movement of people who regularly eat bread and drink wine to remember the events of that weekend. We are among those Jesus was praying for- those whose faith in him is based on the testimony of the disciples. What does he pray for us? That we will be ‘one with each other’ (v.21). That we will be united with God and know his love (v.23,26).
Respond: Repent of anything you might have done or said to cause disunity, and pray for unity in the church that will give glory to God.

Midday Meditation:
‘Jesus calls us to seek our unity in and through him. When we direct our inner attention not first of all to each other, but to God to whom we belong, then we will discover that in God we also belong to each other.’
(Henri Nouwen, The Road to Daybreak)

Evening Reflection:
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace:
give us grace seriously to lay to heart
the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions.

Take away all hatred and prejudice,
and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord;
that, as there is but one body and one Spirit,
one hope of our calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of us all,
so we may henceforth be all of one heart and of one soul,
united in one holy bond of peace, of faith and charity,
and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

The heart of the issue
For reading & meditation: Job 21:11-16
"Yet they say ' 'Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?' ' But their prosperity is not in their own hands '" (vv. 14-16)

We come now to the heart of the issue with which the psalmist is struggling in Psalm 73: "Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning" (Psa.73:13-14). Permit me to paraphrase what I think he is saying: "Here I am, living a godly life, keeping my heart and hands clean, avoiding sin, meditating on the things of God and devoting myself to a life pleasing to God, yet despite this I am facing all kinds of troubles. What's the advantage in serving God if He doesn't protect me?"

The problem, then, is not so much the prosperity of the wicked as the fact that he himself is passing through a period of great trial while they are getting off scot-free. We begin now to see the roots of the envy to which the psalmist referred earlier: "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (v.3). Envy is born out of two things: ignorance and a wrong comparison. Take, first, a wrong comparison. "Almost all our problems," said Dr W.E. Sangster, "begin in a wrong comparison." How true this is. We compare our looks, our height, our income, our homes, our training and our abilities with those of others and soon we lose sight of our own individuality and specialness. To compare ourselves with Christ is a healthy spiritual discipline, but to indulge in comparison with those we think are more prosperous and fortunate than we are is the direct road to envy.

Prayer:
O God, save me, I pray, from the habit of wrongly comparing myself with others. Help me to satisfy the impulse I have for making comparisons only in a way that will yield spiritual gain - by comparing myself only with You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Faith in Dark Places
In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. —Psalm 31:1 KJV
Behold, God is mine helper, the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
—Psalm 54:4 KJV
The Holy Spirit of God moved David to write Psalms 34 and 56 in the cave of Adullum and Psalms 31 and 54 in the cave of Ein Gedi.

David embraced God’s word; Saul had rejected God’s word. David put God first; Saul had put himself first. David presented offerings to Jehovah, while Saul hid that which God told him to destroy. David fell on his face before the angel of the Lord; Saul fell on his sword and committed suicide.

Saul’s enemy wasn’t David; it was his own fleshly pride. There was no possibility that Saul could win in the spirit what he had already lost in the flesh. Saul’s choice cost him not only his inheritance; it cost him everything.

David’s passion in life was to dwell in the presence of the Lord, to provide a dwelling place in his heart and in Jerusalem. He had developed a heart attitude that moved God to action.

How is your attitude? Does God have first place in your heart and life?

 

[RiverOL]

Search Me
Morning Encounter:
Introduction
This week we take the opportunity to consider our lives before God. As we take time for inner reflection, let us also be open to the possibility of new strength and a renewed relationship with the Father. As the winter season gives way to spring, let us not be overwhelmed by the dark places in our lives, but open to new life, fresh grace and unconditional love.

Read:
You have looked deep into my heart, Lord, and you know all about me.
You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts.
You notice everything I do and everywhere I go. Before I even speak a word, you know what I will say,
and with your powerful arm you protect me from every side.
I can’t understand all of this!
Such wonderful knowledge is far above me.

Where could I go to escape from your Spirit or from your sight?
If I were to climb up to the highest heavens, you would be there.
If I were to dig down to the world of the dead you would also be there.
Suppose I had wings like the dawning day and flew across the ocean.
Even then your powerful arm would guide and protect me.

Or suppose I said, “I’ll hide in the dark until night comes to cover me over.”
But you see in the dark because daylight and dark are all the same to you.
You are the one who put me together inside my mother’s body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me.
Everything you do is marvellous! Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you!
I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born you had written in your book everything I would do.

Your thoughts are far beyond my understanding, much more than I could ever imagine.
I try to count your thoughts, but they outnumber the grains of sand on the beach.
And when I awake, I will find you nearby.
Look deep into my heart, God, and find out everything I am thinking.
Don’t let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the way that time has proven true.

(Psalm 139. 1-18, 23-24)
Reflect:
Do the words of this Psalm bring fear or assurance? Is it scary or comforting to know that nothing in our lives is hidden from God? The author’s initial impulse is to flee, to run and hide because the thought of this is all too much. But there is nowhere dark enough or far enough away to hide. The Psalm is also assuring because this intimate knowing and searching is to refine us, form us and lead us into good and right ways. God is for us, he loves us, he is committed to us and his care for us began even before we were born.

Respond:
Be open and assured today that God is for you and loves you. As you pray, be honest about your life with him. Ask for forgiveness where you need to and receive new grace.

Midday Meditation:
‘When we despair of gaining inner transformation through human powers of will and determination, we are open to a wonderful new realization: inner righteousness is a gift from God to be graciously received. The needed change within us is God’s work, not ours. The demand is for an inside job, and only God can work from the inside. We cannot attain or earn this righteousness of the kingdom of God; it is a grace that is given.’
(Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline)

Evening Reflection:
Take time each evening this week to reflect on the highs and lows of the day. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What am I grateful for this day?
• What am I not grateful for this day?
• Where did I give and receive love in my activities and interactions?
• Where did I withhold love and grace in my activities and interactions?

Use these brief questions and your responses to form your prayers before you go to sleep.

 

[RiverOL]

Don't forget the parenthesis
For reading & meditation: Isaiah 11:1-9
"He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes '" (v.3)

Yesterday we said that envy is born out of two things: ignorance and making wrong comparisons. Having seen how a wrong comparison can produce envy, we focus now on ignorance. How can ignorance give rise to envy? Far too often our judgments of people are based only on what we see, and we fail to take into account other things that may be going on in their lives. Years ago, A.C. Gardiner wrote a little essay on Lord Simon and spoke at length of his many successes. In one place he described him as "prancing down a rose-strewn path to a shining goal".

Gardiner thought that success, in the measure Lord Simon had experienced it, was free of all sorrow. Then he remembered some of the bitter disappointments that Lord Simon had faced and so he added in parenthesis: "I speak here only of his public career." Many of us forget the parenthesis. We see simply the surface of our neighbours' lives and know nothing of their secret sorrows. If we saw beneath the surface of those lives we tend to envy - the hidden hurts, the emptiness, the heartaches, the guilt and the fears - then I doubt whether the emotion of envy would ever rise within us. But even if there were no secret sorrows we would still have no reason to envy others. God is the rightful Lord of all life: "It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves" (Psa. 100:3, NKJ). Let us keep our eyes fixed only on Christ and resist all other attempts at comparison. Practise comparing yourself with Him, and only good will come out of it.

Prayer:
Blessed Lord Jesus, I see how easily the spirit of envy can filch away my peace and happiness. Uproot this rank weed in my heart and teach me to compare myself with none other but You. For Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.