Friday slowdown

God understands - we are weak

Today, our verse in Psalm 103 is this one:

As a father has compassion on his children,    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; (v 13)

Some things you just don't "get" until you have children. Or until you take care of a loved one's children. Either way, the things you thought you knew go right out the window.

Before you have kids, you watch as other people have them. You see a lot.
You see that kids are gross. And they do gross things. And there's a lot of cleaning up that has to be done.
I'm not just talking about their bathroom habits (or before that, the diapers). It's true there are a lot of clean up jobs there. 
I'm also talking about how the crumbs and spills happen.
Everywhere.
In the dining room. At the restaurant. In the car. In the living room.
And crumbs, by the way, have this innate ability to multiply. Rabbits have nothing on them. No matter how much you wipe them down, scrub, and vacuum (not the kids, the floors), there are always more!
Which is exactly the problem with toys. I used to tell myself that we wouldn't be "those parents" who had a house strewn with toys. What am I saying? I've seen houses that threatened to explode if one more toy was brought in...... oh, wait, that was our house. Even if you try to hold the line and not buy too many or overindulge the kiddos, there are always grandparents and friends bringing toys, and then there are those "happy meal" toys, too.
Then there's the problem of not having time to do things that really do need to be done. Cleaning house. Laundry. Taking a shower. Grocery shopping.  I also swore that I would not be one of those parents whose kids wailed and moaned and acted up in the store. (Actually, we did pretty well on this one.) I have seen others, though...... Mooooooooom, I want that. Moooooooom, I'm hungry. It was only five grapes. Dadeeeeee, can I have a bite of your donut? Can I go potty here? That man is staring at me. Look! That lady has a really big nose!
I could go on.

In spite of all the things I've mentioned, the experience of being a parent is one that will bring out some amazing feelings. I really don't think anyone has any idea of how much they can love another person until they have a kid. It's the most intense, fiercest love that one can imagine. A woman will become a tigress to protect her kids and make sure that no harm comes to them.  Suddenly, she will become selfless, self-sacrificing, and protective. Giving one's life for one's children suddenly makes sense, in both the figurative and literal senses. (Even when they don't appreciate it.) My grandmother-in-law used to say, "They step on your toes when they're little, and they step on your heart when they're bigger."

When they can't sleep, we carry them and rock them. We sing to them. We make sure they rest, even though our own bodies are crying out for sleep. When they are frightened, we pick them up and hug and comfort them. When they are hurt, we bandage and soothe them.
Godly parents are wonderful pointers to our heavenly Father. When we have done our job well, our children will find it easier to believe and trust in their loving Father God. Our children learn that we do not worship a god of stone, or an idol. They learn that we serve a God Who knows our weaknesses and loves us anyway.

God can give us rest when we are aching for sleep. He can give us peace when we are stressed. God will comfort us when we are frightened, and soothe our hurts, as well.

A well-known poem tells of a person who sees his own footprints in the sand, and then sees God's footprints, walking with him through life. At one point, there is only one set of footprints, and the child of God remembers that it was a part of his life that was full of sadness and difficulty. Then Jesus reminds him that there is only one set of footprints there because Christ was carrying him along.

God knows our weaknesses; He understands our fears. He knows when we're too tired to keep going.

And He carries us along.

God remembers - He forgives all our sins

God remembers that we are dust..... He created us, no? And He knows that we are weak and sinful -- and He forgives all our sins.
A little foreshadowing in verses 2-3:

Praise the Lord, my soul,    and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins (v 2-3a)

Today, let's concentrate on these verses from our Psalm:

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,    so great is his love for those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west,    so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:11-12)

How great is God's love?
This is the old meaning of great -- not the over-used word that slips out of our mouths so frequently...."that's great!" we tell our friends when they have something noteworthy to divulge. No, this is more along the lines of how "big" is God's love. And that is a really good question, especially for those who are convicted of their sins and need to really know that God's love is big enough to forgive them.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

It's a great thing to know when someone has slipped away from God and neglected prayer and worship for years and years.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

One way to visualize this is to imagine that we had a rocket ship that could somehow navigate galaxies, stars, suns, and more, and not take 4,392 years (or more) to travel to each place. No matter how far we went, God's love would still be there!

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.  (Deuteronomy 7:9)

To a thousand generations..... that is a God with a great capacity for love. His love is broader, deeper, larger than anything else we will ever experience!

Sometimes when I study verse 12, I'm reminded of an old movie, Around the World in Eighty Days. Phineas Fogg rashly accepts a wager and sets out around the world.... along the way he utilizes steam ships, hot air balloons, trains, elephants, and more. Traveling ever eastward, he finally does make it home in the prescribed time (it's a good movie, made in 1956; I encourage you to check it out.)
I mentioned that he traveled eastward. Did you know that no matter how far east you went, you would never find the west? The labels just don't really apply! You can circumnavigate the globe, but the farther east you go, the farther you are from the west! That's the size of God's love: He forgives us, and He lifts up our sins and puts them so far away from us that we could never, ever find them if we searched for a thousand years!
They are gone forever.
Amen?
Yes, amen!
My sins can never come back to haunt me again. Even Satan can't bring 'em back!

Our God is "slow to anger" in verse 8, and He "does not harbor His anger forever" in verse 9. Verse 10 told us that He "does not treat us as our sins deserve" and now, in verses 11 and 12, we learn that "so great is His love.... so far has He removed our sins" from us.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Verses that inspire

This Psalm truly speaks to me; I hope it is blessing you as well.

Praise the Lord, my soul;    all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul,    and forget not all his benefits— (Psalm 103:1-2)

The first two verses are a call to sincerity. A plea for being genuine. A reminder that we should give true praise, not just casual words. Are we genuinely grateful? Are we praising Him as we study all of His "benefits"?

I've heard it said that thanksgiving is our attitude toward what God has done, while praise is offered for Who God is. Are we mindful that all believers are commanded to praise Him? In fact, that is one reason why we were created!

my people, my chosen,     the people I formed for myself    that they may proclaim my praise. (Isaiah 43:20b-21)

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

Praise originates in a heart full of love for God. But how should we praise Him? It can be in word, in song, or in prayer -- and it's to be continuous!

I will extol the Lord at all times;    his praise will always be on my lips. (Psalm 34:1)

Praise is an act of worship. It can be silent, within our own selves, or it can be aloud. Sometimes when I am alone, I will still speak my praise aloud! It somehow seems more real, and more important (to me) because of that.
Here is a suggestion: pick an attribute of God, and look up verses that match. Read those verses aloud and praise Him for those qualities. For example, praise Him for His holiness, His mercy, and His justice. Praise Him for His grace. For His kindness. For our salvation.
We can even have our own Praise Week, by picking one of these each day and reading the Word and praising Him!
Might as well get in practice! The Bible says that when He comes again, all of mankind will praise Him!!

Has a verse or a passage inspired you recently? Leave a comment to inspire others, too!

God remembers - He tempers His wrath

Our study last week was based on Psalm 103; there are times when we humans are forgetful, but we are noting things that God does not forget about us.  I'm hoping that this two week study of this familiar and well-loved Psalm will be of help to some of those who study here.

Let's get back to it!

He will not always accuse,    nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve    or repay us according to our iniquities. (verses 9-10)

We can see examples of this in history, as well as in our world today. Many years ago, Charles Darwin assisted in the work of humanism, dismantling the idea of a God-created world. Millions have been led astray by his words.  In the here and now, we have such widely-read people as Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and the like -- they and those who revere them sneer at believers and the Word of God.
They are able to amass millions of dollars because they are gifted with words, with clarity of mind, and with life itself. They are unable to accept the fact that even that life is a gift from God -- He doesn't crush them like an eggshell, snuff out their lives..... He doesn't, as the verses state, treat them as they deserve.
It is the long-suffering of God that allows these and others like them to exist, and to continue to deny Him. Why?
Well, I believe that our God is all-powerful, omniscient, and forgiving. He's not the least bit intimidated or worried about people like this, and so He feeds and nourishes them, gives them health, and more. They are tools in the hands of Satan, after all, and we know how the story ends!

This verse explains that God is withholding His punishment of them. He shows mercy to them. And Paul tells us why:

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

So, God continues to show mercy to people who are dedicated to erasing His presence and influence in this world.
He does not treat us as we deserve, whether we are believers or unbelievers.

Who is a God like you,    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever    but delight to show mercy. (Micah 7:18)

Have you ever been involved in an argument, perhaps a very heated one, and little by little, you realize you have been holding the wrong end of the stick? But you keep on arguing because you don't want to admit that you are wrong?
Or have you ever known someone who just seems to love to argue? They will try to keep a quarrel going, and they absolutely must have the last word.

Well, our Father God is not like that. He is willing to end the quarrel and welcome us home. Sometimes, though, we are not ready to stop. We want to keep fighting.
He is more ready to forgive us than we are ready to be forgiven.

He tempers His wrath.....when we forget to pray or to spend time with His Word, He remembers to feed us. He will bring verses to our mind and nourish our souls.
When we forget to give Him thanks, He sends us restful sleep. We have an opportunity the next morning to start afresh and anew.
When we remain in sin, He sends the Spirit to nudge and convict us.
When we refuse to give of ourselves to Him, He keeps on giving and blessing us.
When we fail, He lifts us up.
When we disappoint Him, or ourselves, or others, He still calls us His children.

Friday slowdown

I thought this worship song was a fitting interlude for our studies. We will continue in Psalm 103 next week....

God remembers - He shows mercy

Verse 8 of our focus passage (Psalm 103) is a wonder:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,    slow to anger, abounding in love. (v. 8)

We've noted so far this week that God remembers that we are dust....that He remembers that we are needy....now we will study His mercy to those (all of us) who don't deserve that mercy.

First, the Lord is compassionate. What does compassion really mean? Well, the dictionary says that it's "deep awareness of the suffering of another, coupled with the wish to relieve it." We have so many examples in the Word of God's compassion.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

He sees us as we are, helpless sinners without a shepherd, and He loves us.

This verse also reminds us that the Lord is gracious. He gives us what we don't deserve.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God... (Ephesians 2:8)

 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  (James 1:17)

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. (I Corinthians 12:4) 

And the Lord is slow to anger....

The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; (Numbers 14:18a)

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (II Peter 3:9)

He is so patient when we have our epic failures. Abraham ran ahead of God in going to Egypt, instead of staying in the land he was promised. Moses ran ahead of God when he killed the Egyptian who was persecuting a Hebrew....when we run ahead of God, or when we lag behind in a task He has blessed us with, these failures don't cause a permanent separation. God is patient, and He remembers we are dust.....
Lastly, God abounds in love. We sing about and read eagerly about His abundant love. Abundance means "great, plentiful, full to overflowing." There is no other love like God's love: when He saves us, He saves us completely. When He forgives us, He forgives all of our sins. When He sets us free, we are free forever.
I read once that Charles Spurgeon noted "all the world tastes of His sparing mercy, those who hear the gospel partake of His ... infinite and everlasting mercy."
Isn't that a profound way to put it? God spares the world in order to give everyone the chance to be saved. He gives His children the infinite and everlasting mercy that He promised for those who believe.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;    his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;    great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. (Deuteronomy 4:31)

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  (Titus 3:4-7)

Yes, God remembers, and He knows us, and He shows mercy to those who don't deserve it.
Amen!

God remembers -- He is on our side

Last time we noted that God remembers that we are dust..... He doesn't look at us the same way that we look at us, when we look in the mirror and see all of our faults, sins, and shortcomings. Did you find time to read Psalm 103? I hope you did - it's a wonderful place for us to "camp" this week and consider.

Let's look first at these seven verses:

Praise the Lord, my soul;    all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul,    and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit    and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness    and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses,    his deeds to the people of Israel:  (Psalm 103:1-7)

Wow. I can scarcely move past those verses that list all of His "benefits." What a wonderful list..... so many people talk today about their jobs, and the benefits. They mostly mean the health insurance, the perks, the things that make that job even better than the fact that they're getting a paycheck. (Grin)
I guess if we consider our lives as believers as pretty important "work," then how is that for a list of benefits?
Forgiveness of sins, healing from disease, redemption, love, compassion, satisfaction, renewal..... can we just stop here and praise the Lord for a while?

Then let's move down to verses six and seven. What does the Psalm writer mean by the "oppressed?" In the Old Testament, and specifically in the Law, the word applied to widows, orphans, foreigners, and the destitute.
Human nature may say, "Go ahead! Take advantage of that person. You are strong. They're weak. Go on!"
God says, "Not so fast. Think about it."

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. (Deuteronomy 10:17-18)

God loves to help the needy. He takes the side of the weak. And we are to follow His example:

“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ (Zechariah 7: 9-10)

Isaiah warned again:

Woe to those who make unjust laws,    to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey    and robbing the fatherless. (Isaiah 10:1-2)

Our Father keeps His eyes on the helpless, and when others hurt them, He moves the scales of justice. There may be times when it's hard to hang on to that belief, but this truth stands as a rock for believers. Eventually, God will bring everything to light, and He will judge impartially. He loves to help the needy.  A day is coming when there will be no hiding, no excuse-making; God keeps watch over His own.

Are you needy? Am I?
In a word, yes! The answer is yes whether we know it or not. Whether we admit it or not.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,14 but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.” (John 14:13-14, CEB)

The Spirit is the one who gives life and the flesh doesn’t help at all. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  (John 6:63)

God has the power to provide you with more than enough of every kind of grace. That way, you will have everything you need always and in everything to provide more than enough for every kind of good work.  (II Corinthians 9:8)

We are needy. And God is on our side. He remembers that we need Him.
What a wonderful place to be!

Prayer requests

This week, we are studying a triumphant Psalm that reminds us of the Almighty's compassion for us.

Isaiah told us much the same thing as David did:

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;    break forth, O mountains, into singing!For the Lord has comforted his people    and will have compassion on his afflicted. (Isaiah 49:13)

Here's an important question:
Do we show that same compassion for others?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (I Corinthians 1:3-4)

One wonderful way to show compassion is to hold up our brothers and sisters in prayer. To know that someone has looked you in the eye, taken your hand, and assured you that they will be praying about your problem, your stress, is one of the great comforts of the believer's life!

We do that virtually, here.
If you have a prayer request, please leave a comment so that others can pray alongside you. If you experience an answer and wish to share, the rest of us can praise Him with you.