“Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law….” Psalm 94:12

How true this is, Lord: there is much joy in learning from your Word—the rich, deep, powerful, transforming, enlightening, convicting, guiding Word of God. Thank you that you apply this to our lives by your wise and persistent Holy Spirit.

Praise you, Lord God, Father in Heaven, for your great love in disciplining us–your stubborn, rebellious, lazy and self-centered children. You are so patient, so kind, so firm, so persistent in teaching us over and over again the same lessons. Praise you that you never tire of this, and with great patience, continue to the end.

Praise be to you for giving us your Word:

powerful,

perfect,

revealing your marvelous character,

instructing us in your ways.

Praise you that you preserved it down through the ages, had it translated and made available to us. Praise you that your Spirit uses it to transform us as we read, study and meditate on it. As Colossians 3:10 says, we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” And that knowledge comes only from your Word.

“O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth.” Psalm 94:1

Lord Jesus, you are the conquering One:

“El,” the God of might;

“Yahweh” (LORD), the Holy One who hates sin;

“Adonai,” the powerful ruler who provides all;

Elohim the One who promises and always delivers.

Yes, You are righteous, you are pure, you are clothed in light and robed in majesty. You look down on all mankind and perceive their heart conditions, the motives, the attitudes, the schemes of everyone. “The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile” (Ps. 94:11)

You also are the mighty Judge who, in righteousness, will ride forth in power to bring perfect justice on earth. You will avenge those who have been mistreated, harmed and exploited. You are the wise and just One who knows the exact time to display your righteous anger, bringing judgment, punishment and a proper sentence on those who refuse Your Word, who reject your Truth, who persecute your children. You wait in love and grace, showing patience and kindness, continuing to pour out your goodness on all, working to give all the opportunity for repentance.

There is so much evil in the world today, seemingly unrestrained, yet we know that you have set a limit, holding back evil from its full extent. Lord, we praise you that you are at work bringing judgment in ways we cannot see: bringing consequences, striking down, removing, preventing and punishing.  As evil plays out its role, while evil people “band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death,” we can rest assured that you, LORD “will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them” (Ps. 94:21,23).

In the end, however, the time will come for judgment and you will not be late. In perfect knowledge, perfect justice, perfect perception you will mete out the perfect punishment to each and every one who refuses your offer of entering the shelter of the Most High. To those who reject you as Savior, you will come as Judge.

Written in our early time in the Middle East.

“Blessed is the man…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1a,2

It never ceases to amaze me how our Lord Jesus works in our lives through our meditating on His Word.

The last few weeks I’ve been so tired that Barbara has had to urge me out of bed in the morning.  Sometimes I felt like a 90-year-old cripple.

The logical thing would be to get some rest, wouldn’t it? However, this is more easily said than done, with having to teach 4 hours of English classes every day plus preparation, responsibility for 12 fellow workers, a number of disciples and the national fellowship plus a family. On top of this there is a stream of visitors in a culture where you can never say, “No.” The visitors often stay until late with the average visit being a minimum of 3 hours.

There has so far been no real break where we could get a prolonged rest, so the Lord saw fit to strengthen us in other ways. Each morning as I stood in the bus line on the way to work, I’d run the 23rd Psalm through my mind, quoting it, personalizing it, praying it.

Thinking those truths was like turning on the “power faucet.” These truths brought refreshment, encouragement and strength and carried us through.As it says in Psalm 1, he who meditates on God’s word day and night…will be like a tree..that bears its fruit in season, its leaf will never wither. Humanly speaking I was close to withering, but God used meditation to save me.  I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.

More on Yahweh, the Majestic One, the Mighty One, the Magnificent One  who reaches down from heaven into our lives.

In your might, Lord, you hold back the forces of evil, you guide the tides of history, you set up and take down leaders, you begin and end empires and you sweep men into eternity when their time comes.

You, Lord, restrain your might when it comes to salvation. In your desire that we love you, you give people the right to choose, enabling them to decide, wooing them into your kingdom rather than forcing them.

You are great, you are glorious, you are gracious, you are beautiful and you are good.

Another opportunity to nurture your first love for God

You, O LORD God, being armed with strength, formed the earth.

You shaped the mountains, you created the seas.

You hung the earth in space, tilted it at the exact right angle to provide seasons, spun it at the optimum rate to make each day of perfect length, and sent it off into the proper orbit around the sun, moving it at the best pace, making the year’s length just right.

You gave it the moon for light at night, for making tides and protecting us from asteroids.

You keep all in place until your plan is fulfilled, when you will end time and history, creating a new Heaven and new earth.

Your faithfulness is our certainty that the world cannot be moved without your permission.

Truly, we can say with Asaph, “Whom have I in heaven but you, and earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Ps. 73:25).

We bow before you, Lord God Almighty, we praise you for your majestic, wise, pure, just and gracious being.

Prayer: “Lord, I give myself afresh to you in offering, bowing in surrender, rising up to obey you in trust, standing to glorify you in wholehearted application of your Word. To you be glory today in all my motives, attitudes, thoughts, words and decisions. Amen.”