Psalm 39:1-13

Perspective is vital to being able to live in a way that pleases the Lord.  We all view life from our own perspective, but what many of us fail to realize is that our perspective is skewed.  Things are really not as they seem to us.  If we want to please God with our lives we must strive to gain His perspective on our lives, the circumstances we face and the reality of our sin.  We must understand who we are in light of who He is.  We all have a tendency to be self-absorbed and egotistical but we must fight that perspective and set our hearts upon the Lord.  One of our most common prayers should be for the Lord to grant us the ability to live our lives in light of His perspective.  This is not easy nor is it natural so we must depend on Him and cry out to His so that we might be enlightened by Him.

WE MUST PERCEIVE THE FUTILITY OF MAN: We may have the best of intentions and the greatest determination but our reality is that we are very week.  David speaks of his determination to keep silent so that he would not sin with his speech, but when his troubles became great his vow of silence was broken and he began to complain and worry about his circumstances.  This failure to keep silent before the Lord was brought about because he lacked the correct perspective on the brevity of life.  He cries out to the Lord like we must cry out to the Lord in hopes that we can recognize that no matter what circumstances we face; our days are like a vapor or a shadow that passes quickly.  When we start to think that our short stay upon the earth is the culmination of our lives we are vulnerable to the temptations we face.  If we can gain God’s perspective on our lives we will be able to stand up against the trials of live because we know that they are here today and gone tomorrow.   


WE MUST PERCEIVE THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD: Our only hope is in the Lord.  He is faithful and will always do what is right.  He is the only one who is able to deliver us from our sin and forgive us of our sin.  God is also faithful to discipline us when we sin so that we might gain His perspective.  We may work very hard to gain possessions that seem very important to us, but God strips those things away from us like a moth that ruins our clothing because He wants us to know that our material goods are of little or no value.  God’s discipline may seem severe but in truth it is necessary so that we can live in a way that is pleasing to Him and see our lives from His perspective.  He wants us to recognize that we are but gusts on the earth and that our time here will soon be past.  Our greatest desire should be to be at peace with God when we pass from this life to the real life that awaits us in an eternity with Him.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than any of the other people of his
Read more

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let a woman learn quietly   with all submissiveness.    I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.    For Adam was formed first,   then Eve;   and Adam was not deceived, but   the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.    Yet she will be saved through   childbearing—if they continue in   faith and love and holiness, with self-control. There is certainly controversy and confusion about this passage in many churches today.  The idea of a distinction between men and women and their roles in the family and church certainly goes against the flow of many cultures around the world.  Some would argue that the literal and plain teaching of this passage is no longer applicable to today’s culture.  However, it is always dangerous to discard biblical teaching or try to interpret Scripture based on the cultures in which we live.  Certainly, the Spirit who inspired this text was aware of the many changes that would occur in future cul
Read more

1 Timothy 1:1-2

Paul,   an apostle of Christ Jesus   by command of   God our Savior and of Christ Jesus   our hope, To Timothy,   my true child in the faith:   Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. The true sign of maturity is multiplication.  Believers, churches, and ministries that do not reproduce are not demonstrating true maturity.  One of the key characteristics we can identify in Paul’s ministry is that he was constantly reproducing godly believers who were faithfully following the Lord.  Evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training are the hallmarks of mature ministers and ministries.   THE APOSTLE: Paul was called by God to be an Apostle.  Though Paul converted after the resurrection and assentation of Jesus, he met Jesus in the road to Damascus and was instructed by Jesus in the desert.  Paul considered himself to be the least of the Apostles because he persecuted the church and did not walk with Jesus on earth like the other Apostles.  However, God had
Read more