Prayer

Reflections On God’s Providence

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“Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”” Genesis‬ ‭41‬:‭52‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This beautiful verse is loaded with truth about the providence and goodness of God in the life of Joseph. God was with Jospeh through all the pain and grief he experienced in betrayal by family, injustice being sold to slavery, false accusation by Potiphar’s wife, injustice again due to false accusations, yet the Lord was with Joseph. God’s presence was with Joseph in his pain and God produced something good and beautiful in and through Joseph’s life. In the story of God told through Genesis we see the faithfulness, goodness and providence of God.

Through this story we are to be reminded that we can trust God with our lives as the faithful one who fulfills His promises & purposes for our lives. And we can forgive those who have wronged us, as we consider God’s goodness & favor towards us (Colossians 1:13-14, 3:13).

“Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”
Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

• Reflect on God’s gracious heart for you and identify where you have seen His goodness working towards you & for you as you listen to the song below titled Canvas & Clay.

• What is one thing you need from Him right now? Ask Him for it and expect Him to answer.

Let’s Worship Together

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Today the CDC gave some pleasant news that many will be excited to hear. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated “that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t need to wear face masks or social distance at gatherings of any size”.

For many Christians who haven’t been gathering for in-person worship services that means it time to go back church! As I was reading through my bible reading plan this morning I came a across a passage that stood out to me in Psalm 122.

“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1 ESV

Gladness In Going To Corporate Worship

This verse points to the annual pilgrimage that that the Jews would make to Jerusalem while also highlighting the joy of corporate worship. David was one whose love and affection for God led him to great delight in worshiping God privately and publicly. When he was called to corporate worship, just the thought of it made him glad and he was eager to attend. Matthew Henry commented from this passage that:

“Those that rejoice in God will rejoice in calls and opportunities to wait upon him.”

We see in David the heart of a true worshipper. His thoughts, words, affections and actions were centered on God. His entire life was saturated with worship of God. We too are wired for lives of worship. Eugene Peterson pointed out that worship “overflows the Sunday-morning hour and permeates the days of the week”.

After a long season with many people being socially distanced over the last year and many are feeling an ache and longing from not gathering corporately in worship. I can’t help but notice how timely this little verse is right now. Yet for some it may be a challenge to have a “glad” response to the call to corporate worship in-person. Perhaps the fear of being around other people holds them back. Or for others perhaps spiritual atrophy and indifference has set in. The habit of not being present has been replaced by other habits. It’s time get out of the spiritual rut and get connected once again by being present in the corporate assembly, pouring out your hearts to the Lord in song and hearing the song of faith sung by other saints near you.

Let Us Go To The House Of The Lord

Matthew Henry also said

“It is the will of God that we should worship him in concert, that many should join together to wait upon him in public ordinances. We ought to worship God in our own houses, but that is not enough; we must go into the house of the Lord, to pay our homage to him there, and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.”

Since Jesus came saints no longer need to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for worship (see John 4:21-24). We can worship God anywhere personally and we can worship God anywhere corporately. The people of God who make up the Church are now the Temple of God (Ephesians 2:19-22). We are the dwelling place of God. God dwells in each of us and He dwells among us as we gather together corporately.

“Christians who sing this recognize that in their gathered worship they are carrying out the task of the temple, and their Davidic king (Jesus) is present with them (1Peter 2:4-5;Eph.2:19-22). -C. John Collins

So let’s arrive early this Sunday and come with an eager expectation for God to show up. Let’s sing with gusto to God together, let’s listen to His word together, let’s testify of His work in our lives together and be present to encourage our brothers and sisters. Let’s go to the house of the Lord.

Another verse in this Psalm is particularly timely.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you!”Psalm 122:6 ESV

Currently there is an uproar of violence in Israel among the Palestinian militants and the Israelis military, which has been occurring for the past 4 days. Over 100 people have died in Gaza and 7 people others. There hasn’t been this level of violence since 2014 and there concern that this could become a full scale war.

Prayer for Jerusalem

Father, as Jerusalem is currently in turmoil with a violent uproar, we pray now for your peace to be within this special city. We pray that Jesus Messiah would be welcomed as the Prince of Peace and that you would graciously bring your kingdom of reign there, filling it with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Let the Gospel of peace bring healing to the broken relationships between Palestinians & Jews. We pray for wisdom and guidance of the leaders to skillfully and effectively lead through this time well that many lives would be spared from death in war. .

Here are two melodies with different musical genres put to Psalm 122 that I think you enjoy.

Psalm 122 Desert Spring Church

Psalm 122 StreetLights

Considering Death In Light Of Boston Bombing

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20130417-122358.jpgOne of the most heart aching and fear gripping realities for many people in this life is the fact that we will one day die. We are all apart of the ultimate statistic, namely that 10 out of 10 people die. For some death is a slow and painful process and for others it happens suddenly and peacefully. Nevertheless death is a problem that we all face and it isn’t healthy to avoid thinking about it and act as if it doesn’t exist. That is why the bible says that its “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies—so the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2 NLT). It is good for us to think about the reality that one day we will all die and stand before our Creator, to give account for how we have lived our lives (Hebrews 9:27, Acts 17:31…) We all have an appointment with God that we won’t miss.

The terrible acts of violence that we recently saw take place in Boston are an unpleasant reminder of the reality of death and present evil of this world. When we see such wickedness and evil intent to destroy lives we are grieved and angered by the injustice that has taken place. And so is God. God will punish those who do such things along with those who practice various other kinds of sins (Romans 1:18-32, Revelation 21:8…) The punishment of God is called Hell and is described as the “second death” and the “lake that burns with fire and brimstone” (Matt. 10:28, Rev. 21:8). This evil has not gone unnoticed by God. God sees everything and nothing gets by Him. And He will take action.

God has taken action to help mankind with their problem of sin and death. In the beginning when God made everything, it was good, there was no death and suffering but mankind disobeyed God and brought death and suffering into this world (Genesis 1-3). God did give Adam & Eve a command and a warning of what would happen if they disobeyed. The consequences of sin was and is death (Genesis 2:17). Adam and Eve aren’t the only ones who sinned and disobeyed God, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means you and I are both deserving of death. The Scripture says “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 ESV). The bad news is that you and I deserve to die and go to Hell because of our sins but the good news (gospel) is that Christ took the death penalty for you and I that we might have the free gift of God, namely “eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord”. God the Father took action by sending Jesus to rescue us from the penalty of our sin (Matt. 1:21, John 3:16). Jesus came and lived a sinless life and died in our place bearing our sins on the cross, was buried for three days, and rose from the grave on third day, defeating death. Christ conquered the grave. Jesus has “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10 ESV).

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live'” (John 11:25 ESV). If you trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior then you need not fear death. Christ will release you from living life in bondage to the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14) because He defeated death. As it is written “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV).

20130417-122409.jpgOne day Jesus will return and “make all things new”. There will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4-5).

May God comfort those affected by the the Boston bombing with this gospel truth that Christ has died in our place, conquering the grave and defeating death once and for all. May each person be comforted by the hope of Christ’s return to make all things new and ultimately remove death, sorrow, crying and pain.