Poor and Needy

O LORD hear me: for I am poor and needy. Psalm 86:1

David was a rich man. Once his kingdom was established, nothing was withheld from this king.

And yet he cries to the Lord from penurious, pitiful poverty.

That just goes to show that riches do not buy happiness, beauty is only skin deep and popularity is fleeting.

This roller coaster of life can take us from Alpine apexes to depths of discouragement in no time flat. We had better have an anchor for our souls. There must be something in our lives or Someone Who is a Rock, that which never changes.

The word "poor" in our verse here means "depressed in mind or circumstances, afflicted, humbled."

It doesn't matter how we try to insulate ourselves from the circumstances of life, they always find their way through the cracks and into our experience.

Thank God that He is always there, right beside us, in fact, right inside of us to incline His ear to our cries of circumstantial penury.

A word to the wise... David reveals to us in subsequent verses that there are preconditions that ensure God's mercy in such times. They are; living a holy life, serving God, placing our trust only in Him and lifting up our souls to Him.

Whatever circumstance you find yourself in today, whether you are experiencing mountaintop blessings or are feeling poor and needy, look to the Lord on high for preservation of soul, mercy and the ability to rejoice in the midst of it all.

When two Worlds Come Together

Psa 85:10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Psa 85:11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Finish the pairings...
Peanut butter and _____
Abbot and _______
Ginger Rogers and _______

There are matches that seem to be made in heaven. You can't think of one without the other.

When a fine young couple from two families meet, fall in love and get married, they may eventually have a baby. That precious child is the culmination, the fruit of that blessed union.

Psalm 85 introduces us to two such pairings, 1. mercy and truth and 2. righteousness and peace. The fruit of these blessed unions is salvation.

God is holy and just, those are the foundations of His immutable character. Truth and righteousness are an integral part of the fabric of Deity. God could not be God without these standards.
But as with a beautiful multifaceted gemstone, turn it just a bit and you see a whole new aspect. And so it is with the Father. As hard as the edges of truth and righteousness are, so is the beauty of mercy and peace. You can have one without the other or the godhead would seem incongruous.

Thank God for Who He is and what He brings together for those that love Him. These perfect balances of mercy and truth, righteousness and peace enrich our eternities beyond any possible earthly comprehension.

If We Will Repent...

Psa 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
Psa 85:7 Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

America's crown has fallen. This mighty and blessed nation has come a "fer piece" from where she once was. Our founding fathers and the other great generations would be hard pressed to recognize this as the nation they established and handed down.

Most of our nation's history was replete with righteousness and dependence on the Almighty, recognizing Him as our Creator and Sustainer. Suddenly, we now resemble post-Christian, post-modern Europe where God is viewed as irrelevant to everyday life.

This is not a liberal/conservative problem, neither is it a democrat/republican thing. It is a shift in culture away from God because, as Romans 1 tells us, "even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to those things which are not convenient."

God is not a convenient concept to most Americans anymore. Why trust a God who demands moral piety, when we can depend on big government with no strings attached?

Heaven only knows if and when our populace is going to wake up and see just how far the crown has fallen.

Today's Scripture does indicate that nations which have lost all moral underpinnings can indeed find favor with God once again and be brought back from captivity (vs 1). We find that He would be willing to forgive the iniquity of a people (vs 2). God may turn away his wrath and anger, (vss 3-5). But we must first have revival!

II Chronicles outlines the recipe for revival, we must humble ourselves, pray, seek the Father's face and turn from our wicked ways. Only then will God hear from heaven, forgive our national sins and heal this land.

We can point our fingers at the deteriorating culture all day and cry "foul!" about abortion, porn, socialism, gay marriage, trash TV and the like. But we are told that judgment must first begin at the house of God!

Until Christians hit their knees and repent and then hit the highways and the hedges and start winning souls to Jesus, this nation will never see a mighty move of God again. But alas, we are at ease in Zion, living off the fat of the land, not even sensing God's righteous indignation and the coming destruction of our formerly blessed homeland.

We never learn from history, do we? Nations are brought low because they forget God. Once mighty Britain, upon whose empire the sun never set, is now a 2nd rate toothless old nation plagued by debauchery. Babylon thumbed her nose at the Almighty and fell to the Persians, whose corruption, in turn, gave way to the hedonist Greeks, whose pantheon of lesser gods could not stay the onslaught of the mighty Romans. Rome crumbled from corruption within. Israel witnessed her own decline on a regular and cyclical basis because she neglected her God. The nations that forget God shall be turned into hell!

And what makes us think that a godless America is going to escape the ash heap of history. If we continue to pump our rebellious fists heavenward, we are goners!

But if we will repent...

No Good Thing

Psalm 84:11 ...no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Truly, The Lord has our best interests at heart. Obviously, what we consider good for ourselves and what He considers for our good are usually two completely different things.

There are times I think maybe mission work on an Island paradise would be in my best interests, or maybe a mission to the wildlife to the Montana mountains would be good for me. I am thinking now that the Lord has a better idea for me.

Have you ever put a jigsaw puzzle together? I don't mean a 15 piece Dora the Explorer puzzle for your toddler, I mean the big, bad 500 piece babies that takes days or weeks. The ones that take over a coffee table for a while.

Every piece of the puzzle has its place. And when the puzzle is complete, you feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I start with those edges. I get the sky together, then the ground and the sides. Then you start matching colors and figures. What a process.

Our lives are an interlocking puzzle. Everyone and everything around us is part of that puzzle. No piece can be forced to fit where it doesn't belong.

God is the One who has the picture on the box, so He knows if a piece belongs or not. He will never force a piece where it doesn't belong. The good things in life He allows us to have are those pieces fitting in just right. But the good things we sometimes desire are forced puzzle pieces. A new Corvette, a set of $1000 golf clubs, membership in an elite club, etc., might seem like a good thing to me, but they don't fit in God's plan for me and others around me. So I get a Chrysler, a set of $400 clubs (which I never use anymore) and membership in my church instead. My, how that all works out so much better!

Also, If I were to force perceived good things into my puzzle, it may not be good for someone else's good things. Imagine, if I made that move to minister in Bali, where would that leave a sheep of the flock where I am who considers me a good and necessary piece of their puzzle?

When we not only need, but also desire something good, the Lord let's that request come through the filter of His wisdom as He considers the whole picture of the finished puzzle and then grants us what is truly the best for us.

Never sacrifice the good for what is best!

I'd Rather be an Usher at Church

Ps 84:10b I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

This is a Psalm written for the sons of Korah, a division of the priestly tribe of Levi, whose job it was to man the doors in God's holy tabernacle. This job was a little different than our door greeters at church these days, but similar. The difference? They ensured that everybody who entered or exited the place exhibited an attitude of worship. Additionally, they had swords for enforcement! Picture a person bouncing into the Lord's house chewing gum and 'whack!" you'd get bopped on the side of the head with the flat of the doorkeeper's blade.

We try not to let our greeters have that kind of power, but they are so important. They are the first ones many come in contact with in their Sunday church experience. Who would you want greeting you, Deacon Happy Harry or Lurch? You get the picture.

Thank God for the people at our church doors who offer a winsome smile, a firm handshake (well, not right now), the bulletin and a good start to worship.

Hey, a day as a doorkeeper at church is better than hanging out anywhere else.

Better is One Day in God's House

Ps 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Remember "greater than" and "less than" symbolized by the signs > and Fishing, when they are biting.

When church "works", that is, when the Spirit of the Almighty accompanies glorious worship, powerful preaching, genuine fellowship and truthful teaching, there is nothing that compares.

The Psalmist says that he wouldn't trade a single day like that in God's house for a thousand days elsewhere.

We had a day like that this past Lord's day. Souls were saved, lives were reclaimed, grand decisions were made, baptisms were planned. The Lord's house was filled with "all of the above" and much more.

Most of all, He was there!

It is days like this that a preacher like myself lives for. As my wife said, "this reminds me why we do this." Indeed.

Honestly, I wouldn't trade last Lord's day for a thousand days catching bass, hunting deer, riding 4 wheelers or snow machines, attending my team's games or any of the other things I love to do.

Lord, you've strung together a few of these Sundays in a row. Could you give a few more?

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