The Nearness of God

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Christianity, Compassion, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, God, Grace, Hope, Kindness, Mercy, Pandemic, Peace

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18, ESV).

            From deliverance to providential care, the psalm reaches reflection on the justice of God.  He who looks to the righteous and hears them call, also turns His face against the wicked (v.16).  God’s redeeming favor rests upon the righteous (v.17); but that does not detract from God’s compassion to the needy, as verse 18 emphasizes.  God has compassion upon those who struggle beneath life’s burdens.

            God cares about the sorrows in your life.  God is kind and gracious, merciful to the hurting and the hope of those who despair.  Call out to Him in times of trouble, and find your peace in the nearness of the merciful King.

Tuesday Tea-ology, 11/17/20

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Authority, Bible, Christianity, Divine Sovereignty, God, Gospel, Grace, Love, Mercy, Scripture, Theology, Truth, Tuesday Tea-ology

Today on Tuesday Tea-ology, the Finality of God’s Word. As Jesus said, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35, NIV).

Taste and See

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, God, Goodness, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Mercy, Pandemic, Protection, Redemption, Salvation, Security

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8, ESV).

            David has been reflecting on the goodness of God, who saves those who cry out to Him.  He has experienced God’s deliverance (vv.4-6), and attests the Lord’s protection of His people—“those who fear him” (v.7).  Now he calls people to experience for themselves God’s goodness, using the profoundly sensory language of tasting.  God can be known, and His kindness enjoyed by those who turn to Him.

            God is good, and we can know Him.  This is one dimension of the gospel promise: by faith in Jesus Christ, we can take refuge in God, and know His kindness and protection.  Take your burdens and fears to the Lord; He is strong to save all who call upon Him.

Radiant

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Christianity, Compassion, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, God, Hope, Mercy, Pandemic, Power, Redemption, Salvation, Security

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed” (Psalm 34:4-5).

            David declares the mighty deliverance of God in this psalm; God is extolled in the words of His grateful servant, and others are urged to join in the praise (vv.1-3).  This is the testimony of one who has experienced the Lord’s rescue.  He declares God’s faithfulness, that others may look to the Lord, and find salvation.

            God can deliver us from all our fears.  No situation is beyond His power, no person is beyond the reach of His redeeming love.  The testimonies of the saints throughout the ages, even in Old Testament times, should be a great encouragement as we face our own struggles.  God has redeemed His people; God can lift you up, and make you radiant, victorious and unashamed.

Joy Comes with the Morning

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Forgiveness, God, Grace, Hope, Kindness, Love, Mercy, Pandemic, Peace, Redemption, Salvation

“Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.  For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:4-5, ESV).

            Psalm 30 lifts up praise to God for His wonderful mercy.  David reflects gratefully on God’s gracious deliverance in the past, in protection and healing and salvation from death (vv.1-3).  The following verses urge all of God’s people to join the praise, with a focus on the gracious character of God (vv.4-5).  The latter half repeats these same themes, recalling God’s deliverance and rejoicing in His kindness (vv.6-12).  Verses 4-5 set the focus of the whole thing firmly on the divine mercy.            

God is loving and merciful.  In the midst of trouble, God’s people can still praise Him and declare the wonders of His grace.  Marvelous is His mercy, wonderful His love.  When we have turned away into temptation and sorrow, we can return with good hope, and find welcome again in the loving arms of our heavenly Father.

Wait for the Lord

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Faith, God, Grace, Hope, Mercy, Pandemic, Salvation, Trust

“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!”

(Psalm 27:14, ESV).

            David ends Psalm 27 with an exhortation that others should patiently look to God for deliverance.  He has trusted in the Lord, and found Him a compassionate deliverer.  The psalmist’s own experience of God’s mighty power and gracious deliverance become the basis not only for his own faithful expectation (v.13), but for an exhortation that others entrust themselves to God and wait upon Him (v.14).

            “Wait for the LORD.”  Those are hard words for us, sometimes; when we face danger or uncertainty, waiting can be a trial of its own.  But waiting for the Lord to act is an exercise in faith; God is in control, even when life seems out of control.  God is able, God is wise, and we are called to wait upon Him.  Take heart, have hope and courage: wait for the Lord.

A Merciful Father

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Christianity, Compassion, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Faithfulness, Father, Forgiveness, God, Grace, Love, Mercy, Pandemic

“For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in” (Psalm 27:10).

            The psalmist David’s confident exultation from verse 5 continued in the joyful exuberance of verse 6, but turned in the next few verses to supplication.  He pleaded with God for a merciful answer to his cries (v.7), citing that he seeks the Lord (v.8), and imploring God to receive him (v.9).  Though he pleads, there is still a sense of certain hope based on the character of God.  God is faithful and trustworthy, full of mercy and compassion.  Thus the comparison in verse 10, that even if a father and mother forsake their child, the Lord mercifully receives those who call out to Him.            

God is faithful to His children, and full of compassion and love.  God mercifully receives all those who cry out to Him.  He is the standard of fatherly love, next to which even the best of human parents fall short.  Turn to God when you are in trouble.  Return to God when you fall into temptation.  Trust in Jesus Christ, and look to your heavenly Father to lift you up in His mercy and grace.

Not Forsaken

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Faithfulness, God, Grace, Hope, Mercy, Pandemic, Peace

“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:10, ESV).

            Building on the theme of the previous verse, this passage emphasizes the reliability of God because of His steadfastness and mercy.  It is one thing to know that God is powerful and has defeated the wicked and another to know that God is righteous—but still another to know that God can be called upon and relied upon by the needy.  God is strong to save, but can someone so weak presume upon the Almighty?  May a sinner take refuge in the shadow of the Most Holy?            

God is a shield and comfort for those who seek Him.  Though He is all-worthy, He takes notice of us and He keeps His promises to us.  Our part is to believe, to turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith; God can save, and He offers His covenant of grace to all who come to Him.  Trust Him, and do not be afraid.  God does not forsake those who seek Him.

Majestic and Merciful

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Christianity, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Devotional, Encouragement, Glory, God, Grace, Mercy, Pandemic

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1, ESV).

            Here is the outpouring of the heart in praise to God for His glory and splendor.  The first sentence is repeated in the last verse of the psalm, verse 9, bookending the whole poem with praise to God.  David’s adoration of the Lord is focused on God Himself, His supreme majesty, but seen especially through the lens of God’s work of creation.  At the center of this marvelous creative work is man; but the praise is not centered on how wonderful mankind is, but how awesome that Almighty God should so honor man.  God’s grace weaves together with His splendor in the theme of this exuberant psalm.            

How awesome is the Lord God Almighty!  His wonders are seen all around us, in the vastness of creation and the beauty of the earth, which glows with the splendor of its Creator.  And, as David says in this psalm, how marvelous that God Most High should care so much about us (vv.3-6).  When we think of the grandeur of God, it gives us all the greater sense of the wonders of His mercy.  The Lord of all the universe has loved us, and reached down to us so that we could be with Him forever.

Tuesday Tea-ology, 06/30/20

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Compassion, Forgiveness, God, Grace, Hope, Life, Mercy, Peace, Salvation, Tuesday Tea-ology

Tuesday Tea-ology is here, about the grace and compassion of God.