Author: Chris Marshall

Psalm 69 is another of King David’s desperate cries to the LORD for deliverance in a difficult time. It starts with extreme desperation. He tells us he is in a flood up to his neck. Most likely this is a metaphor, but given the extreme circumstances David lived through, it could be an actual event. Some of the events David describes also happened to Jesus on the cross, so some see this as a prophetic psalm. As David does so often, he ends the psalm with an affirmation of the LORD’s goodness and deliverance in His life.

Psalm 70 is a brief psalm of King David similar in content to the much longer Psalm 69. Again, David cries out in desperation to the LORD, and in the end, he affirms the LORD’s work in his life.

Psalm 71 is a Psalm of David, and though he mentions his adversaries, much more of this psalm is devoted to affirming the LORD’s presence in his life from the time of his birth to his old age. David makes it clear the LORD has been his foundation and stronghold throughout his life, and he is never worried in the ultimate sense that the LORD will abandon him, or fail to provide his deliverance.

As we turn to Luke 14, Jesus heals another man on the Sabbath. He does it in a Pharisee’s home, so He knew this would cause problems. Then Jesus told those around Him not to choose the best seats at a banquet, because the one in charge might move you to a lesser place. Rather start at the lesser place and let the one in charge move you to the greater position. This was certainly directed at the Pharisees’ predisposition to value their positions. Jesus continued by speaking directly to the man who had invited Him to the dinner, and told him not to invite his friends, relatives, and others who could pay him back by inviting him to their home for dinner, but rather to invite the poor and crippled, because then he would receive the reward from God.

Next, Jesus told the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, in which the guests invited first made excuses for why they couldn’t come. Then the host invited everyone who would come. What an analogy for the Kingdom of God! God chose the Jews, and when many of them rejected Him by rejecting Jesus, He opened the door to everyone. Now, through Jesus, each of us can enter.

Finally, Jesus uses several illustrations to remind us how precious the Kingdom of God is, and how we must put Him and His Kingdom before anything else in our lives: before our families, our work, even ourselves. When we do, everything will fall into its intended place, but if we don’t we will forfeit the greatest gift of all–eternal life. Always remember: do not forfeit what is eternal for what is temporary!

We’re told Psalm 65 is a song of King David. What a song of praise it is! In this brief song, David covers virtually every attribute of God. He tells us of God’s worthiness to be praised, of God’s forgiveness, of God’s creative power, of God’s love for us. Psalm 65 is worth remembering and maybe even singing!

We’re not told who authored Psalm 66, although it is reminiscent of many of King David’s psalms of praise. We are told it, too, is a song. It resounds with praise of the LORD and also makes brief mention of various aspects of Israel’s history including the crossing of the Red Sea (or the Jordan River), times the Israelites spent “in prison,” (which could have been in Egypt or during the times of the judges in Israel), and time spent worshiping the LORD in His Temple.  The psalm offers us a heavy dose of praise to God and a brief history lesson to go along with it!

Psalm 67 is a brief, anonymous psalm, which is also labeled as a song. While the psalm is so brief it is difficult to tell where it was going, one noticeable point is when we bring our praises to God, His response is to pour out blessing in our lives. This is a general truth found throughout Scripture, and while Job would call it into question, at least during the suffering portion of his life, putting God in His proper place–first, generally leads to blessing.

Psalm 68 is an extended psalm of praise written by King David. It is also called a song. The psalm flows back and forth between telling us of the LORD’s blessing His people, and punishing His enemies. We must always remember the LORD has a chosen people, and while that chosen people was quite obviously Israel in the Old Testament, His holy people are now any who trust His Son, Jesus, as Savior and Lord, and follow in His ways in the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we turn to Luke 13, in the first five verses, Jesus tells of two incidents where people were killed by Pilate, the Roman governor, and others who died when a tower fell on them. He asked the people whether they thought this happened because their sin was worse than others? His answer was brief, “No, but unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish. Here Jesus sounds more like John the Baptist than we typically think of Jesus, but always remember: Jesus’ first message was a message of repentance!

Next Jesus told a parable about a vinedresser who had a plant that bore no fruit. The owner wanted to cut it down, but the servant asked for more time to fertilize it and if it didn’t produce after another year, he would cut it down. The message here seems clear: Jesus expects “fruit” from us His “plants.”

Jesus then went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and healed a woman who had been bound with an illness for eighteen years. The religious leaders were upset, but Jesus pointed out they would free one of their animals if it were bound on the Sabbath, and shouldn’t this child of God be freed? The question put them all to shame.

Jesus told two quick parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. He compared the Kingdom to a mustard seed, that grows to be a massive tree, in which many birds and animals can shelter, and yeast of which a little can leaven a whole lump of dough. In other words, it doesn’t take “much” of the Kingdom of Heaven to impact a great deal. Even a little of the Kingdom in our hearts can make an eternal difference.

Jesus was asked whether many would be saved? His response was the door is narrow that leads to life and we must strive for it. That doesn’t mean we can earn salvation. It does mean once we have received salvation, we are to work that salvation out in our lives in such a way that we glorify God and help others to find it, too.

Psalm 60 is a different kind of Psalm of King David than we have read. The difference is David starts by stating God has not been with them, that they have been defeated in battle, that God has given them wine that has made them stagger. It’s as if God is their enemy. But David calls on God to restore them, to give them victory over their enemies as He has done in the past. David “reminds” God once again of the victories He has given Israel before, and the promises He has made to them. He concludes with confidence God will deliver them from their enemies. This pattern is helpful for us, because we all go through times in our lives when we have been defeated. When that happens, David helps us remember the LORD has been with us in the past, and He is with us now. We must trust in His faithfulness, and call out in confidence based on who He is, regardless of our circumstances. That challenge “says easy and does hard,” when we’re in the midst of it, which is why it’s always helpful to learn these truths in easier times, so they will be there for us to remember in the difficult ones. To sum it up succinctly, “Don’t doubt in the darkness, what you’ve seen in the light.”

In Psalm 61, King David praises the LORD and calls on Him to bless “the king,” who would be himself, forever. We might think, “What a selfish prayer.” Not at all. It is not selfish to desire the LORD’s blessing in our lives forever. Indeed, unless we experience that blessing our lives will never be what He created them to be. It’s helpful for us to thank the LORD for His blessings, and to call on Him to continue those blessings, and as important as our relationship with Him–forever!

In Psalm 62, King David praises the LORD and reminds us of a vital truth: it doesn’t matter whether we are “lowborn” or “highborn” our end is the same. What matters in each person’s life is to trust the LORD, to praise and honor Him. As we do that, each life becomes valuable.

Psalm 63 is another Psalm of praise from King David. He extols the LORD and reminds us His loving kindness is better than life. This psalm is one we ought to turn to when our lives are going well, and we want to offer the LORD our thanks and praise for watching over us and providing us all we need.

Psalm 64 starts with King David writing, “Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint.” This tells us no subject is off limits for us as we turn to God in prayer.  As usual, David states his case before God, tells of God’s goodness, and closes with assurance that God will vindicate him and other righteous people.  This message has become clear to us by now!

As we turn to Luke 12, Jesus devotes the first twelve verses to warning His disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, to encouraging them not to worry about those who could kill their bodies, but not their souls, and to remember the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say in future times when they were arrested for serving Him.  He closes out the section by warning them about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is attributing to Satan the work of Jesus.

As we move to verse 13 and following, Luke records Jesus interaction with a man who asked Jesus to divide his father’s property between him and his brother.  This seems odd on the surface, but rabbis were used often for such matters.  Jesus showed He wasn’t a typical rabbi, by saying He was not a judge between them.  Then He used the opportunity to tell a parable about a rich man, whose arrogance left him with the assumption the biggest thing he had to worry about in life was where to store his riches. The LORD showed the man he was a fool, when he told him, “This very night your soul is required of you.” Jesus’ punchline was “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself, but is not rich toward God.” We must always remember our financial resources are not ours.  They have been entrusted to us by God, and He expects us to manage them wisely, to meet our needs, and to advance His Kingdom.

Next, Jesus told His disciples the same thing He told them in Matthew 6:19-34: not to worry about their needs, but to seek God and His Kingdom first.  Then they would have everything they needed.  Here in Luke 12, Jesus went on to remind the disciples both to store up their treasures in heaven, and to steward their master’s good’s well, because the reward for such behavior is great blessing from their master.  Luke seems to have combined Matthew 6 and Matthew 25 in this passage, or it could well be Jesus instructed the disciples on this matter more than once, because it is so important, and matters pertaining to stewardship are often challenging for us to remember in life with only one hearing!

The phrase David repeats in Psalm 56 is “I will trust in You.” David found himself being pursued by the Philistines, and he did what he always did: he called out to the LORD for help and he confessed his trust in the LORD. It’s important for us to do both when we find ourselves in trouble. After all, if we’re going to call on the LORD when we’re in trouble, it needs to be from a position of our trust in Him.

Psalm 57 is another brief psalm in which David calls out to the LORD for help, this time in escaping once again from King Saul, and calls out in trust to the LORD. David found himself in the position time and time again before he became the King of Israel of avoiding King Saul, and other enemies. In the middle of that, David was always praying–calling out to God in trust and in petition for deliverance. Once again, we do well to emulate such faith, a faith that recognizes opposition and calls out to God for help to overcome it, and a sure trust that God hears us and is already at work on our behalf.

In Psalm 58, King David speaks frankly about his desire for the LORD to deal with evil rulers and evil people in general severely. He calls on the LORD to break their teeth. While we might find such a “prayer” offensive, few, if any of us, have ever dealt with ongoing assault in our lives as David did. He once again speaks of how the LORD will deal favorably with those who honor Him, but calls for judgment on those who don’t. We live in a culture that has stands against any type of judgment for all but the most heinous behavior, but David lived with a strong sense of justice, and often called on the LORD’s holiness and justice to judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous.

In Psalm 59, David calls out to the LORD to judge the evil men who lie in wait for him for no cause. We read in the notes at the top of the psalm this particular time the evil men were sent by Saul to capture him at his own house. Those notes show us the psalms of David are not presented in chronological order. We don’t know why the psalms are presented in the order we find them, but it’s clear chronology wasn’t the key concern. Once again, David calls out to the LORD for deliverance and affirms his trust that the LORD will deliver him. This recurrent theme offers us the challenge to do the same in our lives.

As we turn to Luke 11 the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray as John taught his disciples. In Jesus’ day, rabbis typically taught their disciples prayers to deal with various aspects of life. Jesus offers what we call the Lord’s Prayer in response. Then Jesus continued His instruction on prayer with several illustrations. First, He used the example of a man who went to his friend’s door at midnight to borrow some bread. He said even though the friend wouldn’t get up because of their friendship, he would eventually get up if the guy kept knocking. Wow! What Jesus was not saying, was: God doesn’t want to answer our prayers, so we need to nag Him until He does. He was saying we need to be persistent in prayer. Next, Jesus told us to keep on asking, seeking and knocking, once again telling us to persist in prayer. He reminded us that we, as human beings, even though we’re evil know how to give good gifts to our children, so how much more does our Heavenly Father want to give the Holy Spirit to us when we ask Him. Luke’s statement is a bit different than Matthew’s, because Luke made it clear what our Heavenly Father wants to give us is the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to live as Jesus, so it’s a helpful reminder for us to ask our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to us.

Next, we’re told Jesus cast an unclean spirit out of someone, and the religious leaders said Jesus was able to do this by the authority of Satan. Jesus responded immediately by making it clear that idea makes no sense. After all, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Jesus continued on the offensive stating His casting out of demons was a sign that the Kingdom of God was coming. He then challenged them by saying whoever is not for Me is against Me.

Jesus offered another illustration, a vital one, about what happens when an evil spirit is cast out of a person. He said the man’s “house,” or soul, is swept clean, but the spirit will travel over arid places and find more spirits who will come back and possess the man again, and the last state of the man is worse than the first. The point here is if a person is freed of an evil spirit, the “emptiness” must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

As Jesus spoke these words of wisdom, someone in the crowd shouted a blessing on His mother. Jesus responded the blessed one is the one who does the will of God. Jesus wasn’t discounting His mother, but emphasizing that more than one person is blessed–all are blessed who obey God.

Jesus went on the offensive once again, telling the crowd it was an evil generation and wanted a sign. He said no sign would be given, but the sign of Jonah, which was a reference to His three days in the tomb after His crucifixion. Then he said the Queen of Sheba would testify against this generation, because she showed proper honor to the LORD in her time.

Luke 11 closes out with Jesus being invited to dinner by a Pharisee. While He was there, Jesus pronounced woe after woe on the Pharisees for their practices, which didn’t honor God, nor lead people to God. When the lawyers said Jesus’ words offended them, too, Jesus was not impressed. He spoke similar words of judgment on them. The end result of all this was the religious leaders determined to find a way to catch Him in His words, and ultimately arrest Him.

As we read Luke 11, we see Jesus’ concern to teach His disciples, and to correct the Pharisees. This is helpful for us, because we want to remain in the position of disciples throughout our lives. Disciples are learners. As long as we remain teachable, we are useful to ourselves and to Jesus. When we think we know it all, we become Pharisaic, and we move to dangerous ground.

Psalm 52 shows us King David wrote psalms not only to praise the LORD, or to petition him for some overarching challenge in his life, but even concerning individual events that on the surface don’t seem important. Here, David wrote about Doeg the Edomite, who told King Saul where David was. While the event itself was not that important in the grand scheme of things, it resulted in Saul executing many priests. The psalm reminds us, we can go to God with any event in our lives the “big” and the “small.”

Psalm 53 is a brief “maskil” of King David. We believe maskil is a musical term, but no one knows for certain. In it, David points out two facts regarding those who don’t believe in God, and all of us when it comes to sin: 1) The fool says in his heart there is no God; and 2) no one does what is good, not even one. It is, indeed, foolish not to believe in God, given the abundance of evidence for His existence. David didn’t have the clear example of Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection, but even in his day, ample evidence existed for God’s existence. David’s acknowledgement that all of us are sinners, was picked up on by the Apostle Paul in his teaching, and used to show us all the universal need for salvation in and through Jesus.

Psalm 54 comes from another time in David’s life before he was king, and Saul was chasing him. This time the Ziphites told Saul where David was. David relied on the LORD for his deliverance, and called on the LORD to protect him from his enemies. David’s faith in the LORD reminds us in every situation, whether good or evil, we must rely on the LORD. He is the only one who will not betray us.

In Psalm 55, David cries out to the LORD to deliver him from his enemies. That is a common theme in David’s psalms, but what differs in this one, is the enemy is a former friend, one who was his companion, who fought at David’s side. The cry for deliverance is familiar, but the pain in David’s words over the identity of this enemy is obvious. In the end, David acknowledges once again the LORD will deliver him.

As we turn to Luke 10, the first half is devoted to Jesus sending out 70 (or 72 depending on the translation and the manuscripts used by the English translators of the passage) to preach, teach, heal and cast out demons in the towns He was about to visit in Israel. In His instructions to them, Jesus called on them to pray for the LORD of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest. He told them not to take anything extra as they went, but to rely on the generosity of the people in the places they would go. Where they were received, they were to stay and minister, where they were rejected, they were to wipe the dust off their sandals as a sign against the place. Jesus pronounced judgment against several towns in northern Israel for their rejection of Jesus and His message. When the group returned, they told of the wonderful things done in Jesus’ name. Jesus told them He had seen Satan fall like lightning from the sky, and then made a vital statement about the response the group had experienced: Don’t rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in the book of Life. We must always have an eternal view in our daily lives. Even when we experience miracles in Jesus’ name, the greater miracle is we get to be with Him for eternity, because of His great to us.

In the next section, we’re told of a teacher of the Law who came to test Jesus. The “test” was to state which teaching in the Law of Moses was greatest. Jesus turned the test on the lawyer and asked him what he thought. Jesus often did this, and in this case the lawyer couldn’t resist the opportunity to show off his knowledge. He said it was the command to love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said he had answered rightly. Test over. But the lawyer wanted to “justify” himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded with a parable. We call it the Parable of the Good Samaritan, but to the Jews the idea that a Samaritan could be good, kind, and compassionate was beyond comprehension. Even so, Jesus told of a man who had fallen among thieves, was beaten and left for dead. Three men came along with an opportunity to help him: a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. To the shock of all His listeners, it was the Samaritan who proved to be the neighbor, the one who helped him. Jesus asked the lawyer who had proven to be neighbor to the one in need? The lawyer had to respond, “The one who helped.” He wouldn’t even say Samaritan. Jesus then told him to go and do the same. What an amazing turn around. Rather than Jesus looking foolish for not knowing the answer, or giving the wrong answer. The lawyer had just been challenged to act like a Samaritan!

In the final event of chapter 10, Jesus visited the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. As Jesus sat talking and teaching, Martha busied herself with preparing a meal for the group, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening. Eventually, Martha was fed up and came to Jesus challenging Him to tell her sister to help her with the food preparation. Jesus, told Martha she was worried and troubled about so many things, but only one thing was necessary, and Mary had chosen it. So, what was the “one thing”? Being with Jesus. Not serving Jesus through work, but being with Jesus is the necessary thing. We know from Jesus’ former miracles, He could have “prepared” the meal even if thousands were there, but investing time with Jesus is the more important matter. It’s interesting that Luke placed this event immediately after the one in which Jesus told about the 72 going out and doing ministry, and the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The first two tell us of powerful activity for good, while the final one tells us there is also a time for rest, renewal and sitting at Jesus’ feet. We must ensure we take time for both in our lives. We cannot only sit at Jesus’ feet listening, but we dare not engage in frenetic activity in His name without having first done that.

Psalm 48, another psalm of the Sons of Korah praises the LORD with an affirmation of His presiding over His holy Temple. The LORD is seen as the King over all other kings.

Psalm 49 another psalm of the Sons of Korah, focuses on the brevity of life, and the reality that we can’t take it with us when we die. They remind us whether we’re rich or poor what we have will be left to someone else. We are also reminded honoring the LORD is the way we show ourselves wise, but it is foolish not to honor Him.

Psalm 50 is a psalm of Asaph. The psalm reminds us to honor the LORD.  Much of the psalm is written in the LORD’s voice. He tells us He doesn’t need our sacrifices, and we dare not take the side of thieves. He tells us He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He would never tell us if He needed anything from us, yet He does tell us to offer our sacrifices to Him, and honor Him.

Psalm 51 is a powerful psalm of King David. It was his response to God after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan, for his sin with Bathsheba. David started by confessing his sin. He told the LORD it was against Him and Him alone he sinned. He also confessed he was a sinner from his birth, and was conceived in sin. David makd no attempt to make excuses, or to cast blame on anyone else. This is a great model for us, when we sin. The first step is to confess our guilt. Next, David asked the Lord to “forget” his iniquity, and also to create in him a pure heart and to renew a right spirit within him. This, too, is so vital for us to remember. It isn’t enough for us to feel bad when we sin, or even to confess we have sinned. We must ask God to forgive us, to restore us, and to renew our spirits. That is a prayer the LORD is most willing to answer. David asks the LORD to restore the Holy Spirit to him. When David was anointed king by the prophet Samuel, we are told the Holy Spirit came on David and remained with him. Here David acknowledges sin can “quench” the Holy Spirit in our lives, and thus asks for the LORD to restore the Spirit to him. David told the Lord if he restored him, he would tell others of His restoration, and instruct them in the Lord’s ways.

As we turn to Luke 9, Jesus gives the apostles authority to preach, teach, heal and cast out demons and sends them out. Nearly as an aside, while the apostles were out doing their work, we’re told King Herod believed Jesus to be John the Baptist resurrected from the dead. That’s because of the amazing miracles Jesus performed. Then we’re told the apostles came back and told Jesus all they had done. Jesus took them away to the town of Bethsaida. This is instructive. After a productive ministry “tour,” Jesus gave the apostles a break. He wanted them to have a time of reflection and restoration. The time was short-lived, though, as the crowds found them. Jesus healed some, and then started teaching. He taught all day, and at the end of the day told the apostles to feed the group. Jesus ended up being the source of the meal, as He turned five loaves of bread and two fish into a meal for 5,000 men along with all the women and children. Immediately, following this event, we’re told Jesus took time alone to pray.  Following this, Jesus asked the apostles who the crowds said He was. This question is so vital–Who is Jesus? It doesn’t matter, though, who the crowds say Jesus is.  As we see, Jesus then asked the apostles, who they thought He was? Peter gave the right answer, as we know from reading Matthew and Mark. Jesus is the Messiah. In Luke’s account, after Jesus tells the apostles He is going to be crucified, Peter does not rebuke Him as he does in Matthew and Mark. Instead, Jesus tells the crowd immediately how important it is to deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him.

The events that follow start with Jesus being transfigured with Moses and Elijah, and then Jesus healing a demon-possessed boy. Following this, Jesus told the apostles again He was going to be crucified. This time the apostles argued about who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of God. Jesus brought a small child into their midst and said to be great one must turn and become like a child. Following this John told Jesus of a man who was casting demons out of people in Jesus’ name, but they told the man to stop, because he wasn’t one of them. Jesus told them not to stop such activity, because whoever isn’t against them is for them. This is an important principle to remember. Everyone doesn’t have to be or think exactly as we do to be on our side. Next, Jesus “set His face” to go to Jerusalem. He sent some folks on ahead, because He wanted to travel through Samaria, but the Samaritans weren’t going to permit Him to pass, because He was heading to Jerusalem. This incensed James and John, who asked Jesus whether He wanted them to call lightning down from the sky on them. Jesus rebuked them. The chapter closes with three different men coming to Jesus and each one was potentially a follower, but each one had a reason why he couldn’t do follow Jesus at that moment. Jesus made it clear delayed obedience, is disobedience, and He wasn’t interested in having someone who wanted to serve Jesus “later.” As we reflect on that reality, consider whether there’s any area in your life where you are delaying your obedience to Jesus.

We’re told Psalm 44 was written by the Sons of Korah. They were Levites, members of the priestly family. The psalm’s purpose is to “remind” God of His faithfulness in times past, and to petition Him to remember that faithfulness in current times. The Sons of Korah start with history. They remind God of how He delivered the people from their enemies, how He fought for them. Then the psalm turns. They ask God, why do our enemies defeat us? They are confused and deeply grieved, because they tell God they have not turned from Him. They have been faithful, but they aren’t experiencing His faithfulness. The psalm closes with a brief petition for God to restore them, because of His nature and His faithfulness. We could ask, “Were the Sons of Korah right? Were they faithful, and yet still overcome by their enemies?” Or “Were they wrong? Was their current situation, simply God fulfilling His promises to turn them over to their enemies, for their disobedience?” Either could be true. We know from Job’s life, the righteous are sometimes subjected to terrible situations, and sometimes their enemies prosper for no good reason. We also know, human beings tend to exaggerate our innocence before God. Whichever it was, the psalm pleads for God to restore His people. It is a cry God’s people have offered in every generation. We do well to remember our part in fulfilling this cry: being obedient to Him in the power of the Holy Spirit. The rest is up to Him, and we know His nature: He is holy, righteous, and good.

Psalm 45 was also written by the Sons of Korah.  It was a “wedding song.” As we read it, we see three major aspects of the psalm: 1) praise for the king; 2) praise for the LORD; and 3) a call for the bride to recognize the blessing of her situation. At some points in the psalm it is difficult to discern whether we are reading about the king or about the LORD, but the key to this psalm is to remember the kings in Israel were given their place by a promise the LORD made to King David, and the LORD always keeps His promises. That is a helpful reminder to us, when we are not going through joyful moments in our lives, and we wonder whether the LORD will be faithful in our circumstances.

Psalm 46, also a psalm of the Sons of Korah, is a powerful song of praise and affirmation of who the LORD is and what He does. It starts with this reminder “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” We’re reminded that even if the foundations of the earth would be shaken or moved, the LORD is with us. This psalm is often read at funeral services, because of its focus on the LORD’s presence with us in even the most difficult situations of life.

Psalm 47 was also written by the Sons of Korah. Although brief, it is a joyous psalm of praise to the LORD. The psalm reminds all the nations to clap our hands, because of who the LORD is and all He does for us. As we read it, or sing it, the psalm offers glory to the LORD and brings joy to our hearts.

As we turn to Luke 8, Luke tells us Jesus not only had twelve disciples who followed Him, a number of women, whom Luke names, also traveled with Him. These women provided for the group financially out of their own means. While, we might be inclined to zip right past this brief detail, having women in the group was a major departure from tradition. Rabbis in Jesus’ day often wouldn’t even look at women in public, but Jesus had them in His group. He gave them the opportunity to provide financial support, which was always a “man’s responsibility.” This was a major affirmation of women by Jesus, and a reminder to us that all people have an opportunity to serve Jesus.

After Luke’s brief account of women being part of Jesus’ ministry, he recorded Jesus telling the parable of the Sower, and then explaining it for the disciples. This was followed by Jesus’ parable of the Lamp, and a reminder to be careful how we hear, because depending on how we listen and respond, what we have of God’s truth will be multiplied or removed. What a vital reminder! Next, Luke tells us Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they couldn’t get near because of the crowd. When the crowd told Jesus His family was seeking Him, Jesus responded by telling the crowd those who do His Father’s will are His mothers, sisters, and brothers. Jesus was not minimizing His biological family. He reinterpreted how we are to see family as His followers. Our relationship as “spiritual parents, siblings, and children” is as important as our biological relationships. In reality, they might be more important, because we will be with our spiritual family for eternity, while we will only be with our biological family members for eternity, if they, too, become Jesus’ followers.

The remainder of chapter 8 records familiar events for us, because we find them in Matthew and Mark’s gospels as well. First, Luke records Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee when He had been asleep in the boat.  Next, we have the accounts of Jesus’ healing the Geresene demoniac, Jesus’ healing the woman with the issue of blood, (or rather the woman taking the initiative to be healed by Jesus by touching His robe), and Jesus’ raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead. These amazing events demonstrate again Jesus has power over nature, over the spiritual realm, over physical ailments and even death. With those areas of life covered, Jesus is truly Savior and Lord of all!

Psalm 40 starts with a statement that has become extremely important to me: ¹I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1 (NIV) I waited.  On a daily basis, after I turn to the LORD in praise for who He is, I wait on Him.  He is our King, so we wait on Him. We wait for His instruction.  We wait for His encouragement, His correction. Whatever it is He wants to do in our lives, we must wait for it.  King David said, “I waited patiently…”  Patiently.  That’s a big challenge for most of us.  We want to get to the tasks of the day, or the appointments of the day, or we’re distracted with the needs of our husband, wife, children, parents, or ….  Life waits for no one the saying goes.  But unless we wait for the LORD, how will we know what life is?  How will we know who we are, and why we were created in the first place and what we were created to be and do?  The remainder of the Psalm speaks of how the LORD delivered David, and how David continue to call on the LORD for deliverance. It all starts with waiting.

Psalm 41 is a blend of King David reminding us the LORD blesses those who are kind to the poor, and a call for the LORD to remember David as he struggles through illness, his enemies crying out against him, and even hoping he will die.  David asks the LORD to deal with these enemies and closes with his usual affirmation of praise to the LORD.

In Psalm 42, King David offers a powerful image of his great love for the LORD.  He tells us “as the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after You.”  What a vital reminder! The LORD is the Creator of the universe.  He is the giver of every good and perfect gift. He sent Jesus to live a perfect life and die in our place, so we might have a restored relationship with Him, and life forever! How can we not long for the LORD in the same manner a wild deer who has been running through the forest on a hot day pants for a drink of cold water?  I have often heard preachers say, “If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy,” but what about this, “If we are too busy to long for the LORD, to seek His Kingdom and righteousness in our lives, we are too busy.”  King David understood that all of life flowed from the LORD, just as water sustained the panting deer.  May we not only understand that but live it in our lives today.

Psalm 43 is anonymous no author’s name comes at the top of it.  Yet, it is reminiscent of King David’s cries for the LORD to deliver him from his enemies.  Indeed, Psalm 43:5 is “cut and pasted” from Psalm 42:11.  They are word for word the same.  What is the meaning of that?  The meaning is simple: when we are downcast in our souls, because of life’s circumstances, we must look up to the LORD, because He is always with us, and is always worthy of our praise.

As we turn to Luke 7, Luke recounts for us Jesus’ encounter with the Roman centurion who wanted Jesus to heal his servant.  We’re given some details here we don’t have in the other gospels.  We’re told he loved Israel and had even built the synagogue in the town.  Once again, when Jesus responded, and was willing to enter the centurion’s home, even though it would have made Him ceremonially unclean to enter a gentile’s house, the centurion appealed to Jesus’ authority.  The centurion understood authority.  He knew his soldiers didn’t obey him, because of his authority, but that he had the delegated authority of the emperor, and therefore his men obeyed him.  In the same way, the centurion understood Jesus’ power and authority came from God and trusted that was enough.  Jesus marveled or was amazed at the man’s faith and healed the servant.  (Jesus is only recorded being amazed twice in the gospels. He was amazed at the Roman centurion’s faith, a faith greater than any Israelite had displayed in His experience, and He was amazed at the lack of faith of the people in His hometown.  Far better to amaze Jesus with our faith in Him than with our doubt!)

Next, Luke tells us about Jesus approaching a funeral procession outside the town of Nain.  The widow was mourning the loss of her only son.  Jesus’ compassion moved Him to touch the young man and restore him to life.  As we would guess, this amazed everyone who saw it, and the people marveled at Him.  Some of John the Baptist’s disciples were watching Jesus as He did these things, and reported them to John, who was in prison.  John sent two of his disciples back to ask Jesus whether He was the one to come–the Messiah, or whether they ought to wait for someone else.  John, and many in Israel, expected the Messiah to be a conquering hero, not a traveling miracle worker, who would ultimately sacrifice His life for the people of Israel and the world.  Jesus responded by quoting the book of Isaiah, a passage with which John would have been well acquainted: ²²And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. Luke 7:22 (ESV)  As John’s disciples left Him, Jesus told the people John was greater than anyone who had come before him, and they ought to receive his message.  This pleased the tax collectors and other “sinners” who had responded to John’s message, repented, and prepared their lives to receive Jesus.  Not so much with the Pharisees and other religious leaders, who had rejected John and were also rejecting Jesus.  Afterward, Jesus told the people they were like children, whose beliefs are fickle.  He said this because John had come neither eating nor drinking (John didn’t eat normal food, or drink wine), and they said he had a demon.  Then Jesus came eating and drinking, and they said He was a glutton and a drunk.  One application of those words of Jesus is not to get our assessments of what is happening around us from the latest poll, but rather from the voice of the LORD.

Luke closes the chapter by telling us the account of Jesus having dinner with a Pharisee who offered Jesus none of the culturally accepted amenities upon His arrival in the home: a kiss on the cheek, water to wash His feet, and oil to anoint His head.  Yet, during the meal a prostitute came in and anointed Jesus feet with oil, “washed” them with her tears, and dried them with her hair. The Pharisee was aghast that Jesus didn’t know what kind of woman this was.  Jesus offered a parable to the man about two men who owed their master differing amounts of money.  One of the men owed a great amount, while the other only a tenth of the amount.  The master forgave both debts. Jesus asked the Pharisee, which would love the master more?  He answered, the one forgiven the most.  Jesus agreed, and then told the Pharisee the woman’s sins, which were many, were forgiven, because of her great love for Him, and the implication was the Pharisee’s sins remained, because he didn’t even show common courtesy to Jesus. We do well to be sure we don’t assume we are better than we are, because the best of us deserve eternal punishment separated from God apart from the grace and mercy we receive from Jesus on the cross.  Once we realize how much we have been forgiven, our task is to live that forgiveness forward to others in Jesus’ name.

We could call Psalm 36 “King David’s ode to the unworthiness of sinners, and the goodness of God.”  The first portion of the psalm describes what sinners are like, and then shifts quickly to David’s praise for God, for His mercy not only to people, but even toward animals.  The LORD is good, and David wants everyone to know it.

Psalm 37 shows us King David extolling the virtue of loving and serving the Lord. One of the  most familiar verses of the Bible is found in it: ⁴Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 (NIV) David promises goodness and blessing to those who follow the LORD. The promises seem to be without qualification, but several times David does point out we must sometimes wait for our reward.  The tone of this psalm affirms the idea that those who follow the LORD will always be blessed.  While David has shown us in other psalms that he knew and even experienced times when the righteous were not exalted, Psalm 37 elevates the “rule” that obedience to the Lord brings blessing.

Psalm 38 offers us a quick return to King David’s realization both that his sinfulness has caused him great spiritual and physical pain, and his enemies have rewarded his goodness with evil.  David once again confesses his own sin and asks for forgiveness, and then calls on the LORD to vindicate him from experiencing the vindictiveness of his enemies.  The psalm ends with an affirmation of the LORD, as is often David’s tendency.

In Psalm 40 King David focuses on the brevity of life.  While his tone is not quite that which we find from his son, King Solomon, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is a sense in which David sees a bit of “vanity” in the brief life we live, and then leave our wealth to others, whom we might not even know.  There is no sense of hopelessness from King David, but he makes us quite aware of the permanence of the LORD and the brevity of our lives.

As we turn to Luke 6, Luke starts by telling us the account of Jesus’ disciples picking grain on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees calling Jesus to task for it. Jesus responds with an example of King David “breaking the rules” by eating bread reserved for the priests, and then telling the religious leaders the Sabbath was made for us and not the other way around. That account is followed immediately by Jesus healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath and drawing the wrath of the religious leaders. Next, Jesus chooses the twelve disciples. Following that, Luke devotes the remainder of the chapter to what has often been called “The Sermon on the Plain.” If you line up the content of this portion of Luke 7, with Matthew 5-7, you will see a great deal of overlap. While the order differs, many of the points are word-for-word the same as in the Sermon on the Mount. Some biblical scholars contend Luke has just varied the content, because he wasn’t there, while others contend Jesus would have taught this content many times, because it was the core of His teaching. Either way, the content is vital, because it is recorded in both gospels.

Psalm 33 is an “anonymous” psalm, that is we are not told who wrote it. It sounds much like the psalms of King David we have read that extol the virtues of the LORD and offer Him praise.  The psalm emphasizes the LORD’s power and superiority over any army or other force in the world. It focuses on the LORD’s creative power, and in that sense is something of a creation psalm. It also reminds us the LORD is with the righteous, with those who follow His ways. The psalm serves as a helpful reminder to us that the LORD is sovereign, and we do well to praise and obey Him.

The introduction to Psalm 34 tells us King David wrote it when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech. David found himself in a difficult position, his own king, Saul, had vowed to kill him, even though David had always been faithful to Saul. David and his men were forced to go on the run. He decided it would be “safer” to go to the land of the Philistines, Israel’s enemy, than to stay in Israel. The plan worked far better than David could have imagined, and for a time he, his men, and their families lived in relative peace. The psalm offers praise to God for protecting those who call out to Him, to those who face difficult challenges, who are willing to obey Him.  The circumstances of the writing of Psalm 34 help us to remember we can always praise the LORD, we can always call out to Him, and He is with us in our most difficult challenges as well as in our times of blessing and ease.

In Psalm 35, King David calls on the LORD to protect him from his enemies and to destroy those enemies. David “reminds” the LORD he has shown mercy and compassion to all, even to his enemies, but when they have the opportunity they gloat over David’s misfortune. This psalm petitions the LORD to vindicate David and judge his enemies. While we might assume it is always better to pray for mercy on everyone, David calls on the LORD’s justice in this situation and asks Him to respond accordingly. When we offer such a prayer to the LORD, it is vital we are, indeed, walking in His ways ourselves.

As we turn to Luke 5, Luke offers us an account of Jesus interacting with Peter, Andrew, James, and John that differs from the accounts we read in Matthew and Mark, about how Jesus came to call them to follow Him. In Luke’s account, Jesus asks the men to let Him board their boat and uses it as a “pulpit” from which to teach the crowds. After the message has ended, Jesus calls the men to take their boats out into the lake and lower their nets for a catch. Peter “knows” this is not the time of day to fish. After all, he was a professional fisherman. He protests he and his partners had fished all night (when one is supposed to fish!) and caught nothing, but he obeyed Jesus’ command. The result was an unprecedented catch of fish. The boats become so filled with fish they started to sink. On seeing this, Peter exclaimed, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Peter called Jesus “Lord.” Peter recognized the power of God in Jesus’ discernment, and in providing the catch of fish. Peter’s response in the presence of such goodness and holiness, was to recognize his own sinfulness.

Jesus’ response is so helpful. He didn’t say, “Peter, your sins are forgiven.” After all, Peter’s protest was that he was a sinful man, implying his unworthiness to be in Jesus’ presence. Yet, Jesus responded, “Do not be afraid…” Jesus realized Peter’s true response was fear. He responded to Peter’s fear and promised they would catch people if they followed Him. Peter and the other’s responded by heading back to shore, leaving their boats, (and possibly the amazing catch of fish, although some biblical scholars believe they sold the fish so their families would be supported while they followed Jesus) and following Jesus. When Jesus calls us to follow Him, we might feel unworthy, and we will certainly feel fear. Peter’s example helps us to realize Jesus is greater than our unworthiness and our fear.

In the rest of Luke 5, we read of events, which are quite familiar to us after reading Matthew and Mark.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the “synoptic” gospels, which means “seen together,” because their content is so similar. As we read them, we see how connected they are, and yet how the details differ–as we would expect, given Luke was not an eyewitness, but a historian, Matthew was one of the disciples, and Mark was most likely recording the events from Peter’s perspective. In the remainder of Luke 5, Jesus touches a leper and heals him. He then heals others. Next, Jesus heals the paralyzed man who was brought to Him by four friends. Before the healing, Jesus forgave the man’s sins, showing He is God’s Son, because only God can forgive sin. Next, Jesus called Levi or Matthew, and finally, Jesus had a discussion about fasting with the religious leaders. Jesus pointed out His disciples didn’t fast, because no one fasts when the “bridegroom” is present. (Jesus was [and is] the bridegroom!) He pointed out fasting would become part of the disciple’s spiritual discipline after He left. He also pointed out it was a time of new realities and used an analogy of putting new wine in old wineskins, to show, that such action ends badly. Thus, Jesus bringing new realities would bring them in “new wineskins.” As we seek to live out our faith in Jesus, we will find ourselves struggling with traditions from our upbringing and even the free-wheeling culture in which we live. In those times, let’s remember Jesus didn’t come to bring us back to where we were, but to give us a whole, new life!