When we think of the Psalms, the 22nd Psalm is not usually the first one that comes to mind. We are much more familiar with the 23rd Psalm --- "The Lord is my shepherd..."
Psalm 22 is powerful because it presents an Old Testament account of Jesus' New Testament crucifixion. Verse after verse in Psalm 22 foreshadows Jesus' suffering on the cross. Dr. Mears explains it this way in her book What the Bible is All About, "Psalm 22 gives a picture of Calvary. We see the crucifixion portrayed here more clearly than in any other part of the Old Testament" (Mears, 1953).
So many people in the world are wanting proof that they can believe God is real and trust that Jesus is the Savior for the world. It is only natural to want proof. Especially when you consider how many religions are in the world. People want the truth and there is only One truth. It is chapters like Psalm 22 that I think provide people with the proof they need to believe that Jesus is our Savior and Lord. When God provides us with a record of an event that was written hundreds of years before the event actually occurred, we need to see that for the proof it is.
Psalm 22 was written by David. Jesus is of the lineage of David. Matthew 1:17 tells us that King David preceded Jesus' birth by 28 generations in their connecting lineage. (That is a long time.)
I tell you all this to give you a better perspective on how much time passed between the time David wrote Psalm 22 and the time Jesus was crucified.
Over the next week or two we are going to go through almost every verse in Psalm 22. We are going to analyze the verses and then find how that scripture was lived out by Jesus in the New Testament.
We can't predict the future, but God can. God already has. Psalm 22 was God's way of giving a glimpse into the future horrific suffering His Son would suffer on the cross for you and me.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Technical Difficulties
Good Morning Everyone!
Blogger has been experiencing some technical difficulties and I have been unable to post until now! Check back soon for today's devotion.
Janice :)
Blogger has been experiencing some technical difficulties and I have been unable to post until now! Check back soon for today's devotion.
Janice :)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Where's Your Hope?
"Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24
This verse starts out talking about endurance. Our lives are going to have ups and downs, but God reminds us to be of good courage because He is the One providing the strength we need to get through. And then there's a little comma that leads into the next part --- "all ye that hope in the Lord."
Hope is so easily misplaced these days. (I would venture to say that hope has been frequently misplaced since sin entered the world.) We often put our hope in other people. And then those people fail us or disappoint us and we are left feeling lost, weak, abandoned, and misguided. We put our hope in material things and those things fail because they break, malfunction, or don't meet our expectations. Then we are left feeling cheated, defeated, and worried about what could possibly be reliable.
Do you see the pattern here? When we put our hope in anything but God, we will suffer the lack of peace that results. This verse could not possibly end without the phrase of "all ye that hope in the Lord," because the promise that God will strengthen us when we are of good courage is contingent upon our ability to put our hope in the Lord!
This verse starts out talking about endurance. Our lives are going to have ups and downs, but God reminds us to be of good courage because He is the One providing the strength we need to get through. And then there's a little comma that leads into the next part --- "all ye that hope in the Lord."
Hope is so easily misplaced these days. (I would venture to say that hope has been frequently misplaced since sin entered the world.) We often put our hope in other people. And then those people fail us or disappoint us and we are left feeling lost, weak, abandoned, and misguided. We put our hope in material things and those things fail because they break, malfunction, or don't meet our expectations. Then we are left feeling cheated, defeated, and worried about what could possibly be reliable.
Do you see the pattern here? When we put our hope in anything but God, we will suffer the lack of peace that results. This verse could not possibly end without the phrase of "all ye that hope in the Lord," because the promise that God will strengthen us when we are of good courage is contingent upon our ability to put our hope in the Lord!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Water: Gotta Have It
"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14
A strange thing happened yesterday in Decatur, Alabama. The entire city's water flow was reduced to very little, or none at all. Businesses closed and the city officials told citizens to save water for emergency purposes only. All of this happened because of operational problems at the water treatment plant.
I don't know about you, but I have never experienced a lack of water in my life. I turn on the faucet and the water is there. I know enough about worldwide living conditions to know that most people around the world do not have the reliable, clean water source that I am accustomed to.
Well, all this attention on water made me think about the Biblical significance of water. Water references are found throughout the entire Bible. God created water. We need physical water to sustain our bodies in order to survive. However, our spirits need spiritual water that can only be attained through Jesus Christ.
The spiritual water that Christ fills us with will never run out. Our spirit will not thirst for anything when it has Jesus fulfilling its every need. The absence of physical water or spiritual water equals death either way. If you have an abundant water supply in Jesus Christ, make sure you are sharing it with others so they will not thirst as well.
A strange thing happened yesterday in Decatur, Alabama. The entire city's water flow was reduced to very little, or none at all. Businesses closed and the city officials told citizens to save water for emergency purposes only. All of this happened because of operational problems at the water treatment plant.
I don't know about you, but I have never experienced a lack of water in my life. I turn on the faucet and the water is there. I know enough about worldwide living conditions to know that most people around the world do not have the reliable, clean water source that I am accustomed to.
Well, all this attention on water made me think about the Biblical significance of water. Water references are found throughout the entire Bible. God created water. We need physical water to sustain our bodies in order to survive. However, our spirits need spiritual water that can only be attained through Jesus Christ.
The spiritual water that Christ fills us with will never run out. Our spirit will not thirst for anything when it has Jesus fulfilling its every need. The absence of physical water or spiritual water equals death either way. If you have an abundant water supply in Jesus Christ, make sure you are sharing it with others so they will not thirst as well.
Monday, January 3, 2011
A Look at Anger
"Be ye angry, and sin not" Ephesians 4:26
I cannot think of many times when I have been angry and did not sin. But this verse in Ephesians tells us directly to not sin when we are angry. How is this possible? Let's look at Jesus and see...
This is what happened when Jesus discovered the temple taken over by money changers and such -- "And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise." John 2: 14-16
Was Jesus angry? Yes. But what kind of anger was it? Let's look at how anger is defined. Anger is, "a strong feeling of displeasure." But there are different categories of anger that relate the intensity of the emotion. It is at this point that we see the different stages at which anger becomes a sin. Anger is a sin when it is manifested in the forms of rage, fury, or wrath. The dictionary is attentive to point out that, "anger, the most general term, names the reaction but in itself conveys nothing about intensity or justification or manifestation of the emotional state"
The anger that Jesus experienced is what the dictionary refers to as indignation. Or, what we could call "righteous indignation." Take a look at what indignation is..."Indignation stresses righteous anger at what one considers unfair, mean, or shameful."
The words righteous anger tell us everything we need to know. There is no sin in anger that is based out of righteous indignation. We can be angry about injustices and wrongs without falling into sin. However, anger is often hard to control and must be attended to with all diligence and the help of the Holy Spirit lest not we fall into rage, fury, or wrath and find ourselves in sin.
--- Studying Biblical anger has been enlightening to me. I am glad that God has given us the emotion of indignation because we live in a fallen world where sin and injustice occur. However, the enemy can use anger against us because it is such a powerful emotion that can create such a reaction within us. Give me your thoughts on this if you have a chance today. ---
I cannot think of many times when I have been angry and did not sin. But this verse in Ephesians tells us directly to not sin when we are angry. How is this possible? Let's look at Jesus and see...
This is what happened when Jesus discovered the temple taken over by money changers and such -- "And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise." John 2: 14-16
Was Jesus angry? Yes. But what kind of anger was it? Let's look at how anger is defined. Anger is, "a strong feeling of displeasure." But there are different categories of anger that relate the intensity of the emotion. It is at this point that we see the different stages at which anger becomes a sin. Anger is a sin when it is manifested in the forms of rage, fury, or wrath. The dictionary is attentive to point out that, "anger, the most general term, names the reaction but in itself conveys nothing about intensity or justification or manifestation of the emotional state"
The anger that Jesus experienced is what the dictionary refers to as indignation. Or, what we could call "righteous indignation." Take a look at what indignation is..."Indignation stresses righteous anger at what one considers unfair, mean, or shameful."
The words righteous anger tell us everything we need to know. There is no sin in anger that is based out of righteous indignation. We can be angry about injustices and wrongs without falling into sin. However, anger is often hard to control and must be attended to with all diligence and the help of the Holy Spirit lest not we fall into rage, fury, or wrath and find ourselves in sin.
--- Studying Biblical anger has been enlightening to me. I am glad that God has given us the emotion of indignation because we live in a fallen world where sin and injustice occur. However, the enemy can use anger against us because it is such a powerful emotion that can create such a reaction within us. Give me your thoughts on this if you have a chance today. ---
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Word of God
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Matthew 24:35
The word of God is everlasting. There is life in the Word. It is so very important to spend time reading the Bible everyday. It keeps our faith rooted and strong.
Whenever I think of how the Word of God lasts forever one thing always comes to my mind:
When I was very young my Granny and Pa-Paw's house burned down because of an electrical fire in their kitchen. I don't remember much at all about the fire or the way the house looked afterwards. I know that it was devastating and had to be rebuilt from the ground up. The only thing I do remember was what they said about their Bible. There was a Bible in their home during the fire. When they sorted through things afterwards they found that Bible. The cover was in bad shape, but when they opened it not a single page had been consumed by flames.
God used that to encourage my grandparents and give them strength during a troublesome time in their lives. Everything in our lives may crumble around us, but the Word of God never will.
The word of God is everlasting. There is life in the Word. It is so very important to spend time reading the Bible everyday. It keeps our faith rooted and strong.
Whenever I think of how the Word of God lasts forever one thing always comes to my mind:
When I was very young my Granny and Pa-Paw's house burned down because of an electrical fire in their kitchen. I don't remember much at all about the fire or the way the house looked afterwards. I know that it was devastating and had to be rebuilt from the ground up. The only thing I do remember was what they said about their Bible. There was a Bible in their home during the fire. When they sorted through things afterwards they found that Bible. The cover was in bad shape, but when they opened it not a single page had been consumed by flames.
God used that to encourage my grandparents and give them strength during a troublesome time in their lives. Everything in our lives may crumble around us, but the Word of God never will.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year's Resolutions: The Usual Flop
The New Year rolls around and all of a sudden everyone wants to make a New Year’s resolution. A resolution is defined as “the act of determining.” So, why is it that so many New Year’s resolutions fail? Give these resolutions a couple of weeks and they have fallen by the wayside.
Well, human strength is frail when it is not coupled with God’s strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25 takes an interesting perspective on just how weak man is without God, “the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Human strength at its best is nothing compared to God’s strength and power. It’s really no wonder a resolution made solely on human strength and resolve will not last.
So, before you run out and buy that new piece of exercise equipment, let’s take a look at what God wants from us in terms of a commitment with Him. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” Hebrews 12: 1-2.
God has a beautiful and perfect plan for our lives. It is plotted out like the race Paul describes in Hebrews. There will be times we struggle running uphill and times when we coast along running downhill. We are protected as long as we stay on the track God has laid out. Veering off is foolish and dangerous. (Most of us have learned that through experience by now!)
The wisest New Year’s resolution that could possibly be made is to recommit (or commit) ourselves to the plan God has for our lives. That resolution is not made solely out of human strength, but with the power God gives us because we are His child. Once we are in line with God’s path, all those other areas in our lives we needed to make a resolution about will be dealt with along the way in God’s timing.
New Year’s Day is not any more special than every other day God gives us. Each day is His creation and we don’t have to wait for New Year’s Day to commit to Him. That shows just how much God wants to love, lead, and bless us, because the door is always open with Him.
Well, human strength is frail when it is not coupled with God’s strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25 takes an interesting perspective on just how weak man is without God, “the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Human strength at its best is nothing compared to God’s strength and power. It’s really no wonder a resolution made solely on human strength and resolve will not last.
So, before you run out and buy that new piece of exercise equipment, let’s take a look at what God wants from us in terms of a commitment with Him. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” Hebrews 12: 1-2.
God has a beautiful and perfect plan for our lives. It is plotted out like the race Paul describes in Hebrews. There will be times we struggle running uphill and times when we coast along running downhill. We are protected as long as we stay on the track God has laid out. Veering off is foolish and dangerous. (Most of us have learned that through experience by now!)
The wisest New Year’s resolution that could possibly be made is to recommit (or commit) ourselves to the plan God has for our lives. That resolution is not made solely out of human strength, but with the power God gives us because we are His child. Once we are in line with God’s path, all those other areas in our lives we needed to make a resolution about will be dealt with along the way in God’s timing.
New Year’s Day is not any more special than every other day God gives us. Each day is His creation and we don’t have to wait for New Year’s Day to commit to Him. That shows just how much God wants to love, lead, and bless us, because the door is always open with Him.
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