Gary Gleans

Sin has caused disastrous effects on the world in which we live and on our own lives.  We are surrounded by sinful men, we live in a world that suffers under the ruthless reign of Satan but most significantly our own hearts are sinful by nature.  God has graciously provided a means of freedom from sin and forgiveness of sin to those who trust Christ but we still live in the same sinful world and though our hearts have been given a new divine nature we still struggle under the sinful desires that come from within us.  This reality of our lives leaves us in a very difficult situation time and time again.  Fortunately we are not without hope in these circumstances because God is always available to help us and deliver us when we cry out to Him. WE CAN CONFIDE IN THE LORD: When we face difficulties, no matter what the source, we can always call out to the Lord and confide in Him.  Just being able to tell our hurts to someone else is a great blessing and source of comfort to us when we

God is merciful.  The Lord blesses us in so many ways and at so many different times in our lives.  We do not deserve any of these blessings; in fact, we deserve just the opposite of these blessings.  When He found us we were in despair and headed for an eternity in hell because of our sin.  Through His mercy He grants us forgiveness and freedom from our sin that we might enjoy lives in fellowship with Him.  This reality should have a profound impact on our lives and the attitude with which we approach life.  We all have a job to do.  God has His job and we have ours.  Our lives can be greatly blessed when everyone does their job. IT IS OUR JOB TO PRAISE THE LORD: We were created for God’s glory.  This was our job before sin came into the world and it continues to be our job since sin came into the world.  Our job has never changed.  God created us so that we might enjoy worshiping and praising Him.  God blesses us in so many ways and those blessings should produce hearts that are

Power is one of the most sought after commodities in the world.  Countries strive to become more powerful through the size of their armies and their economic influence.  Companies seek to expand their power through economic growth and the control that growth can bring them in the market place.  Individuals lust after power and will go to great lengths to be seen as powerful in their families, place of business and even their church.  As much as men desire to have power; the reality is that the most powerful men on the planet are still very powerless in comparison with the Lord.  All of us and all of creation are under His sovereign power.  The problem with many people today is that they believe themselves to exert some sort of power over God.  When men begin to consider themselves as gods, they become very dangerous to the rest of humanity but they do not pose any threat whatsoever to the one and only all-powerful God of the universe.  In light of this fact we should have two basic re

God is worth of our trust because He always does what is right.  He does not confuse the just with the unjust.  When we find ourselves in need of help we can call upon Him and He will respond in a way that is right.  He knows how to punish the unjust and He knows how to deliver the just.  This should produce rejoicing in the hearts of those who love and fear the Lord.  We must learn to trust the Lord in all circumstances because of who He is.  He may not always respond the way that we want or expect Him to but He know better than we do.  He will always do what is right so it is our job to trust whatever He does because of who He is.  It is easy to trust God when we agree with and understand His choices.  The true test of our trust is when His actions are not in line with our desires or according to our interpretation of reality. WE CAN TRUST GOD TO JUDGE CORRECTLY: People can be easily deceived into thinking that right is wrong and wrong is right.  There are times when men will ju

Fear is one of the most paralyzing emotions that we experience.  There are many sources of fear in our lives.  Sometimes our fears are legitimate because we face a dangerous situation.  This type of fear gives us the adrenalin that we need to run faster or whatever the situation may call for us to seek protection.  However, many times our fears are not based on reality but are simply feelings of dread about potentially harmful situations that have not yet materialized.  Another common fear that displeases the Lord is the fear of man.  When we care about man’s opinions of us more than we care about God’s will for us or we live to please man instead of God; we are, in effect, worshiping man instead of God.  No matter if our fears are legitimate or sinful the Bible instructs us to respond to those fears in a way that pleases the Lord. WE MUST TRUST IN THE LORD: David declares that the Lord is his salvation and his stronghold so that there is no reason to let his fears overtake him. 

There are attitudes and actions that God expects of His children as a result of what He has done in their lives.  Our obedience is in response to His graciousness and not the other way around.  We could never earn His blessings but He gives them to us because of His mercy, love and grace.  However, His blessing upon our lives should result in our hearts being full of gratitude.  His work in our lives is one of transformation from lost sinners into saved saints.  Apart from His work in our lives we would not be able to live in obedience to the Lord, but because He has come into our lives; He enables us to live in a way that is pleasing to Him.  This Psalm outlines the benefits of living a life of obedience before the Lord. THE PLEASURE OF PLEASING THE LORD: We often consider obedience of the Lord or living in order to please Him to be a duty.  While it is true that we are called upon to live a life of obedience and it is our duty to do so; we must always view pleasing the Lord as o

We all have needs in our lives that we seek to satisfy through any number of means.  One of our biggest problems is our confusion between needs and wants.  There are things that we want but we act as if they were needs.  There are also things that we desperately need but we live as if they were unimportant.  God is the ultimate source through which all of our true needs are met.  We need to recognize those needs and them humbly and desperately cry out to God to meet those needs. WE NEED FORGIVENESS AND WISDOM: Man’s greatest need is for forgiveness.  We seldom recognize, think about or even admit that this is a need in our lives because it implies that we are guilty and we do not to admit that to ourselves, others or God.  We must not fall into this dangerous trap of taking our sin lightly.  The author of this Psalm cries out repeatedly for God to forgive his sin and not to remember his failings.  If we are going to be in a close relationship with the Lord we must be ready to humb

Worship is the purpose for which we were made.  All men everywhere always worship.  It is how God made us.  We can no more stop worshiping than we can stop breathing.  Unfortunately, we do not always worship the Lord as He intended.  Instead, we worship ourselves, the creation, other people, comfort and any other number of idols that our heart churns out in order that we might worship.  Today’s passage answers three very important questions about worshiping the Lord. WHY WE WORSHIP THE LORD: David answers this question in a very clear and concise manner.  We worship the Lord because He is the owner of all the earth.  Everything and everybody on the earth belongs to the Lord.  He created the earth and He reigns over the earth.  As the sovereign of the universe there is nobody above Him.  There is nobody who is deserving of our worship besides Him.  When we worship the idols of our hearts we are settling for a far inferior form of worship that can never satisfy our hearts and will l

Without question this is the most known and popular Psalm and even chapter in all of Scripture.  Only John 3:16 is more quoted than this precious and beautiful Psalm.  David was a shepherd and so he knew all about caring for sheep in the best possible way.  So now he applies the characteristics of a shepherd to God and the way that he cares for His children.  However, the response to the Shepherd’s care in the lives of us, His sheep, is also very important to note in this text.  Because God is … we should be … .  This theme is clearly repeated in each truth that we learn about God.  We must always remember that every truth that we learn about God should bring about a change in our lives and the way that we respond to the circumstances of our lives.  We can see three clear ways that God works as our Shepherd and the corresponding response that this care should generate in our lives. WE MUST BE CONTENT WITH GOD’S PROVISION: Paul told Timothy that contentment with godliness was great

The Bible is much more than an inspiring book; it is an inspired book or more accurately a collection of inspired books.  As such, the Bible is supernatural.  Mere men do not have the ability to predict the future accurately.  We can make educated guesses about what might happen and sometimes we are right and sometimes we are wrong.  The Bible is not like that.  It is always right.  That fact makes the Bible difficult for us to understand because we look at it from a human perspective.  When we read the content of today’s Psalm we see a clear description of Christ on the cross and the events surrounding the cross.  However, this Psalm was written by David about a thousand years before Christ came to the earth.  If we assume that David was talking about himself in this Psalm we will be confused.  There may be some similarities between David’s circumstances and feeling and those of Christ.  However, it is best to look at this Psalm from the perspective that God supernaturally revealed t

Praise is the natural response that every child of God should have when we consider His might works on our behalf.  David experienced a life of many trials.  His life was constantly being threatened by his adversaries.  He had enemies in the surrounding nations, enemies from his own nation and even enemies within his own home.  There were many times where he was completely surrounded by evil and powerful men who wanted his destruction.  However, in the face of this danger David called upon the Lord to deliver him.  David was the king of the nation; if anyone could have been confident in his ability to resolve this problem in his own strength; it was David.  However, David recognizes his need of help from the Lord so he calls out to the Lord in prayer.  When God rescues David, he is faithful to commemorate his deliverance with praise.  Too often we try to solve our problems in our own strength without turning to the Lord in prayer and when the Lord does answer our prayer we often forge

There is a clear contrast between those who trust in the Lord those who turn away from the Lord.  David has been blessed in marvelous ways because of His trust in God and love for God.  He has experience far more grace than he could ever deserve and for that he now praises God with a heart full of thanksgiving.  By contrast those who hate God and turn away from His commandments find themselves the objects of God’s wrath.  They live in fear and dread because they know that God’s judgment is upon them.  The life of rebellion against God is not nearly as glamorous as Satan would want us to believe and its end will always be destruction.  We must choose which of these two options we want to follow. THOSE WHO RELY ON THE LORD WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD: A life of rejoicing is available to every man who is willing to trust in the Lord and rely upon Him.  God delights in our recognition of the fact that we need help and in our leaning on Him as our only source of strength.  When we trust G

God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through two different means.  He is revealed through the creation in a general way that allows all of mankind to understand His basic attributes.  He is revealed through the Scriptures in a specific way that allows all who read them to understand exactly who He is and what He requires of them.  The purpose of these means of revelation is to transform the lives of men so that they can be rightly related to God.  Sin has separated man from God but He has determined to reveal Himself to us so that we might be restored to perfect fellowship with Him.  This Psalm reflects this process perfectly as it describes the two forms of revelation in beautiful and poetic language, then concludes with a description of the effect that the knowledge of God should have on man.  This change that takes place in the hearts of men then becomes yet a third way that God uses to reveal Himself. GOD IS REVEALED THROUGH THE WORLD HE CREATED: All of creation is a declarati

God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through two different means.  He is revealed through the creation in a general way that allows all of mankind to understand His basic attributes.  He is revealed through the Scriptures in a specific way that allows all who read them to understand exactly who He is and what He requires of them.  The purpose of these means of revelation is to transform the lives of men so that they can be rightly related to God.  Sin has separated man from God but He has determined to reveal Himself to us so that we might be restored to perfect fellowship with Him.  This Psalm reflects this process perfectly as it describes the two forms of revelation in beautiful and poetic language, then concludes with a description of the effect that the knowledge of God should have on man.  This change that takes place in the hearts of men then becomes yet a third way that God uses to reveal Himself. GOD IS REVEALED THROUGH THE WORLD HE CREATED: All of creation is a declara

There are very clear contrasts between those who love and fear that Lord and those love themselves and have no regard for God.  David compares himself to the violent men around him and draws a very clear distinction between what he believes and what they believe as well as between his end and their end.  We may have a tendency to look at the wicked and the way that they often prosper with jealousy, but we must always remember that our perception of their prosperity is very limited.  David recognizes this fact and declares it to the Lord.  When we feel like the wicked prosper and God is not caring for us in the way that we desire; we should follow David’s example and call out to the Lord.  It is a good and healthy thing to declare our dependence on the Lord.  This Psalm presents a clear contrast between the godly and godless. THOSE WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE CAN CALL ON THE LORD: David calls upon the Lord to search his heart.  David has a clear conscience before the Lord and has purpo

The quality of relationships is usually determined by how much we put into the relationship as well as what we get out of the relationship.  Our relationship with God is similar in some ways, but very different in other ways.  It is similar in that the more we give of ourselves to love and fear the Lord; the more we will benefit from the immense blessings of God.  It is different in that no matter how much we give of ourselves or fear and love the Lord; we do not change God in any way.  He is always the same so matter what we do or fail to do.  However, our relationship with Him is a great blessing to us just as it was to David. GOD IS OUR SOURCE OF HELP: One of the keys to our relationship with the Lord is for us to realize that we are in desperate need of His help.  When we pretend that we are sufficient in and of ourselves; we displease the Lord.  When we recognize our dependence upon Him and see Him as our refuge and strength He is faithful to give us the help that we need.  G

What are the marks of a “God follower?”  David points out some of the basic qualities that God desires to see in our lives.  These qualities are the ones that permit us to be in fellowship with God and find refuge and protection from His judgments as well as the attacks of the world.  It is important for us to recognize that David is not suggesting some sort of salvation based on works.  He is stating that God blesses these character qualities with perfect fellowship and protection.  Our salvation is based on our faith in the work of Christ on the cross.  However, believers who do not follow the standard of Scripture find themselves out of fellowship with God and leave themselves vulnerable to chastisement from God and the attacks of Satan and the world in which we live.  This is certainly not an all-inclusive list of the things, but it certainly deals with two key areas that we must build into our character. WE MUST WATCH OUR MOUTH: James tells us that if we can control our mouth

A conviction of the existence of God is vital to man’s ability to cope with the realities of this world and eternity to come.  However, whether we believe in God’s existence or not does not change the reality of His existence in the least.  There is ample evidence in creation, Scripture and in the changed lives of men to prove that God exists.  The problem is that sinful men do not want to be responsible to God or submit to Him so they much prefer to live as if He did not exist.  Like an ostrich that burry its head in the sand or a child who covers it eyes in order to pretend that this will hide them from danger; men prefer to pretend that God does not exist so that they can continue to be comfortable while practicing sin.  David laments this reality and cries out for the Lord to deliver His people. THE MISERY OF MEN: David describes the plight of man apart from God, and it is truly a miserable state.  Man is foolish to live in a world created by God and then try to deny His exist

The silence of God in the midst of distress can be one of the most difficult realities that we must face.  Times of trial are difficult in and of themselves, but when it seems that God is distant it makes those things even harder to face.  When that happens, we can do one of two things; we can become discouraged and doubt God or we can be confident and continue to call out to Him.  Obviously the correct choice is to trust Him no matter how the circumstances appear to us and how distant God seems from us.  We must remember that things are not always as they seem to be to us.  God’s will and ways are often beyond our ability to detect and decipher.  We must commit ourselves to stand firm in our faith especially in the face of hardship. DAVID ASKS GOD TO REMEMBER HIM: These first verses sound very much like they could have come from the mouth of Job when he was under distress and God seemed to be far away from him.  There are times when we may feel like the Lord has forgotten us, is