Reflections: Psalm 3

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. Psalm 3:5
 

Many of the psalms David wrote, like this one, are about his cries to the Lord to be saved, rescued, or relieved from his enemies. No matter how desperate his pleas, David always put his full trust and dependence in the Lord.

I strive to have this kind of relationship with God - where I can honestly cry out to Him with every big and small concern in my life, yet fully depend on Him to sustain me and renew me each day.

My youngest child has been the most difficult of my five babies. She's eleven months old and still not sleeping through the night. (I've been blessed that the other kids starting sleeping through the night much sooner.) When I read this verse today, I almost cried for the longing of a full night's rest, but was also somehow comforted by knowing the Lord will sustain me tomorrow despite how much sleep I get tonight. I know this season of life will pass, but it's so exhausting. Thankfully His mercies are new each morning!

Lord, I ask for physical rest and I know even if it doesn't come, you will sustain me and give me the strength and energy I need for each day to love and serve you by caring for my children and managing my home. Thank you for showing your great power in my weak life.


If you want to listen to a great sermon on the danger of self-sufficiency and our need to depend on Christ for all things, listen to:  Seven Dangers Facing the Church: Danger 7 - Self-Sufficiency  by Juan Sanchez, High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin, TX 11/27/2016

Reflections: Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 

2but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  - Psalm 1:1-2

It seems everyone has advice for me on every subject - how I should raise my kids, how I should decorate my house, what to buy, what not to buy...on and on...especially on Pinterest, as much as I love it, that site seems to be full of know-it-alls (wait, I'm on there, oh well).

Sometimes it's hard to separate the bad advice from the good (and other times it's really obvious). I want to make good decisions for myself and my family, but all the chatter...it's hard to know what to do.

Psalm 1 reminds me to delight in God's law and to think on it daily, but why? Because it is the best source for wisdom in my life. When I have God's standard of right and wrong constantly on my mind, being distracted by sinful choices is less of a temptation. When God's word is in my heart, knowing what's best for my family and home becomes more obvious. Joyfully embracing the truth makes it easier to share with people, neighbors and friends, who are drowning in a sea of bad choices.

Lord, please give me the desire to meditate on your word day and night so that I may be blessed to walk in your ways. Help me today to delight in your law, to know and understand the truth of your word that I will gladly share it with those trapped in the way of sinners. 

Rock of Ages

Rock of  ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.
-Augustus M. Toplady

Currently my kids and I are reading through Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce A. Ware (a book I highly recommend). Today's lesson was on the importance of Jesus' resurrection. If Jesus died for our sins, why did He have to rise from the dead? The answer was two-fold: 1) If the penalty for sin is death (Romans 3:23) and Jesus was still dead, He would still be paying for sin. But, because He is resurrected the payment for sin is finished and complete and we can be completely forgiven of our sin through Jesus. 2) The greatest power of sin is death (Genesis 3:?) and if Jesus was still dead He couldn't claim complete victory of sin and therefore be unable to free us from sin's power.

Later in the day, rocking my baby to sleep, I started humming the hymn above, Rock of Ages. I started thinking about the words in the first verse and how the fifth line spoke of this very idea of a "double cure" for sin. I now have a new understanding and appreciation for this classic hymn.

Dear Jesus, thank you for being the double cure for my sin. Thank you for forgiveness and freedom from sin. Help me daily to turn away from sin and be grateful for your sacrifice!