Tag: God our king

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Psalms Devotionals 2

When this world seems to be falling apart

Standing on a rock

When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3)

Whenever I look at the news or social media, I often have remind myself to lead my heart.

It’s so easy to see the evil in this world and fret.

But the King is still on his throne. He hasn’t abdicated.

Jesus is watching. And when he returns, he will judge all things. (4-6)

On that day, all will be made right. And I will see his face. (7)

So in the meantime, I choose to set aside my fears, anger, and worry.

And I choose to trust in my good King.

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Psalms Devotionals

Though we may sorrow

prayer

Life is not always easy. David himself knew this and wrote many songs of lament, including this one, Psalm 5.

But though we sorrow in the midst of a broken world, here are some things to remember.

1. Who God is. Namely, who God is to us. He is our God. And he is our King (Psalm 5:2).

What does that mean practically? It means we are to honor him. And we are to obey.

Christians nowadays like to think of God as Father or Friend. And he is those things.

But in the midst of our complaints, let us not forget he is also our God and King. And he is worthy of our honor and obedience.

2. God’s character. Sometimes, we look at the evil around us, and we start to question God’s character. We wonder if he is truly good.

But remember that though he may sometimes seem “slow” when it comes to dealing with evil, he will ultimately bring justice (2 Peter 3:8-10).

And on that day, all will know the truth of David’s words.

You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot dwell with you. (Psalm 5:4)

No matter what evil we may see around us, let us never grow cynical about God’s character.

3. We too come before God only by his grace (7). We may get angry at the evil people around us, but let us remember with humility that without God’s grace, we’d be under God’s judgment as well.

4. Our need for God’s leading and his help to do what’s right. Especially when we’re in the midst of adversity. So with David, let’s pray,

Lord, lead me in your righteousness
because of my adversaries (or problems, as the case may be);
make your way straight before me. (8)

Finally, let us choose to rejoice and boast in our Lord (11).

It is so easy to fall into a spirit of complaining when troubles come.

Let us rather choose to take refuge in our God, and rejoice in him.

It will amaze you how much your perspective will change and how much smaller your problems will seem in the light of God’s greatness. 

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Malachi

What God deserves

Malachi

In this passage, we see one of the main problems that the Jews had, and it filtered down to everything that they did.

What was their problem? They failed to honor God. They treated him as something less than the great God and King that he is.

And so God said,

A son honors his father, and a slave his master.

If I am a father, where is the honor due me?

If I am a master, where is the respect due me? (Malachi 1:6)

And of all people, the priests said, “What are you talking about? How are we not showing you honor? How are we showing contempt for your name?”

They were probably thinking, “Hey we’re doing our job. We’re offering the sacrifices. We’re doing what we’re supposed to. What more do you want?”

But God said,

When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong?

Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you? (Malachi 1:8)

In the laws God gave to Moses, he demanded that the people sacrifice perfect animals. Yet, the people had such little respect for God, that they gave him all the animals they didn’t want, the lame and diseased animals.

So God said, “You show more honor to your governor than you do to me, your King. Your governor wouldn’t accept less than the best. Why do you think I would?”

More than that, the people were saying,

‘The Lord’s table is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food is contemptible…What a burden!’ (Malachi 1:12–13)

The people weren’t offering these things out of their love for God. Rather, it had become a burden to them. And so instead of honoring God, they showed contempt for him through their actions.

But God told them,

I am a great king…and my name is to be feared among the nations. (Malachi 1:14)

How about you? How do you see God? I think there’s a balance that we need to remember in our relationship with God.

Jesus says that he calls us friends. Many people embrace that, and they should. It’s a rare privilege we have to be friends with the King.

But at the same time, we do need to remember that he is the King. And as King, he deserves our honor. And that means giving him our very best, not our leftovers.

I’m not just talking about money. But also about our time. And our very lives.

What are you giving God? Do you give him the honor he deserves?

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Micah

Not forever

Micah

If there is one place that has soured on war, it’s Japan.

If you would interview most people in Japan, you’d find that they take a much dimmer view of war than probably any other developed nation. Probably because they saw just how ugly it can be.

It’s too bad that other nations don’t take a similar view.

For years, we had the Cold War, and the world at times seemed on the brink.

Things are better now, but as long as people are in control, I don’t think war will ever disappear. Because with people comes covetousness, lust for power, and all the evils that cause war.

But it won’t last forever. The day will come when God wrests control away from all those who rebel against him and becomes King over all.

On that day, Satan and all who follow him will be vanquished, and justice and peace will reign.

Micah puts it this way:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it…

He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.

They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. (Micah 4:1, 3–4)

The main question we need to ask ourselves before that day comes is, “Whose side are we on?”

Because while for those who follow God, they will at last find peace, for those who don’t, there remains only judgment.

So let us seek God now. Let us not wait until the day of judgment, but let us say now,

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. (Micah 4:2)

And,

All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. (Micah 4:5)

Whose side are you on?