Gary Gleans

Forgetting is a very easy thing for us to do sometimes.  Unfortunately, the things that we should forget like offenses against us or sinful thoughts are very hard for us to forget.  Then there are the things that we should never forget like the grace of God, the blessings we receive and our responsibility to bless His name that are very easy for us to forget.  We need to constantly remind ourselves to bless the Lord, be thankful to Him and constantly consider all that He has done for us and in us.  The focus of our minds should be on the goodness and blessings of God which should lead us to a life of praising Him. WE SHOULD BLESS THE LORD FOR HIS FORGIVENESS: Without a doubt, the greatest blessing that we receive from God and the best motive we have for praising the Lord is the fact that He grants us forgiveness.  We must never forget the fact that through Christ God has provided forgiveness of sin.  We were in a pit of vile wretchedness and He reached down and took us out of that

We have a place to go when we are in trouble.  The twists and turns of this life will likely lead us to a place of pain and problems, but we are never alone in these situations.  God is always with us and He is always over us as well as available to us during those times of trouble.  We are never alone and can look to Him, call out to Him and trust Him to take care of our needs in every situation.  When we are worried or distressed we can turn to Him and know that He is aware and in control of the events that surround us.  We may not understand the circumstance we face or know why He would allow them but we can remember and rest in the truth that He does know what He is doing, and is in perfect control of all that happens in our lives. WE CAN CRY OUT TO GOD IN TIMES OF DISTRESS: The best thing that we can do when we are in trouble is to cry out to the Lord.  There will certainly be times when we feel like He is not hearing us or that that He does not care about the circumstances t

Influence is a very important thing in all of our lives.  We are all constantly being influenced by the culture in which we live, our own health, the people surrounding us, circumstances and even the weather.  However, we are not nor should we consider ourselves to be victims of the influences around us. We can control what influences us as well as how we respond to those influences.  It is of utmost importance that we all learn to deal with these influences according to God’s Word or we may find ourselves very far from where God would have us to be.  This Psalm speaks to two common sources of influence with which all of us must learn to deal. THE INFLUENCE OF OUR OWN SELF: Certainly, the most influential person in each of our lives is our own selves.  The choices that we make and the things to which we choose to expose ourselves exert a great deal of influence in our lives.  In a sense we are influencing ourselves on a very consistent basis through our habits and activities.  Dav

Attitude is everything.  That little phrase that we often say to our children points to the truth of this Psalm.  Of course attitude is not “everything” because our actions and motives are also very important.  However, praiseworthy actions become worthless when accompanied by a lousy attitude.  Our attitudes are vital parts of our relationships as well.  If I am in a foul mood every time that I am with someone, that relationship will not last very long and it certainly will not be a deep relationship.  The idea behind relationships is that our love for one another is so strong that simply being together turns a bad day into a good one as we are a source of Joy to one another.  This is why grumbling and complaining are such heinous sins before the Lord.  Our relationship with Him should always be enough to fill us with joy no matter how difficult our circumstances might be. WHAT WE SHOULD DO: The attitude that God wants to see in our lives is one of joy.  The fact that we know Him

The overriding attribute of God is His holiness.  Many of us prefer to think of God’s primary attribute as being love because we are more comfortable thinking about being loved than being held to a standard of holiness.  God’s righteousness is so much greater than our own that it makes us uncomfortable.  The holiness of God should cause us to humble ourselves before Him, fear Him and bow in worship before Him.  It is of vital importance that we remember who He is and who we are and that we act in accordance with that knowledge. GOD IS EXALTED IN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS: God is king of this world and all that exists.  The psalmist says that our response to His reign should be to tremble before Him.  His greatness, holiness and righteousness should inspire us to praise His holy name.  God is not to be taken lightly and is certainly not to be ignored.  Our knowledge of the greatness of His righteousness should cause us to declare it to Him in thanksgiving and to others in love.  God is jus

God is worthy of our praise.  We are called to use every means at our disposal to praise the Lord.  If we can sing, we should sing praises to the Lord.  If we can plan an instrument we should play for the Lord.  We can even just clap our hands for joy as a means of praising Him.  The point is that we should be using everything at our disposal to praise the Lord.  We should dedicate ourselves to developing our abilities to praise the Lord.  Too often we use our skills in order to promote our own praise instead of using them to praise the Lord.  We have innumerable reasons to praise the Lord but this Psalm points to two specific reasons. WE SHOULD PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS FAITHFULNESS TO SAVE: God’s salvation is truly a marvelous blessing that should motivate us to praise the Lord with a new song.  The fact that God has revealed Himself to us and all of the nations and that He has been faithful to keep His promises to the nation of Israel should constantly encourage us to praise the

God is King of all that is, all that has been and all that ever will be.  His sovereignty is absolute and there is no one who can be compared to Him.  In light of His glory there are two basic responses that man has demonstrated: some have turned from the Lord and refused to worship Him; while others submit to the Lord and rejoice in the honor of knowing and worshiping Him.  The response of man to the glory of God does not threaten Him in any way, but it does have a dramatic effect on the plight of man.  We are responsible to respond to the revelation of God.  When we respond with worship our lives will be full of rejoicing.  When we respond with idolatry we will be covered in shame. THE GLORY OF GOD BRINGS JUSTICE FROM GOD: The fact that God reigns over the earth should bring great joy to the inhabitants of the world.  All of nature and all men should rejoice under the kingship of our God.  His is a just reign and He is surrounded by righteousness. Too often our human leaders are

The nations need to know about the glory of our God.  So many nations follow and worship idols that are of their own making because they do not know our God and they do not understand that they were created by Him for the purpose of worshiping Him.  The only way that they will know is if we tell them.  This is the true heartbeat of every mission endeavor that we will ever make on the face of the earth.  The purpose of missions is to declare the glory of God to the nations of the world.  We do that by worshiping Him openly in the midst of these nations so that they can see our example.  We also do that by telling them about Him and declaring to them His glory.  As we go to the nations, there are basically two things that we need to make sure to declare to them about Him. THEY NEED TO KNOW WHO HE IS: There is much about God that is revealed in nature, that the nations can observe.  However, they cannot truly know who He is unless they are told and someone explains to them who He is,

God created us to praise and worship Him.  We are to lift His name up and recognize the greatness of all that He has done.  It is a natural tendency for us to look at what we wish the Lord would do instead of looking at what He has done.  This tendency will make our hearts cold toward God and fill our minds with doubts and fears.  However, if we will look to the mighty and faithful works of God we will be filled with gratitude and be able to rejoice in the glory of His greatness.  We do much better when we are worshiping than when we are worrying. PRAISE PRODUCES A HAPPY HEART: Praising the Lord is good for the soul.  When we lift our voices to sing about the greatness of God or play an instrument with joy in our hearts; God is pleased and we are blessed.  Gratitude in our hearts is what generates this wonderful blessing of praise.  God has done so much for us that it should not be difficult for us to find reasons to be thankful.  All we need to do is look around at the wonders of

Turmoil and trials are a part of living in the middle of a perverse and sinful world.  There are many times that we will feel like the events surrounding us are completely out of control.  The wicked and evil men may seem to be in control while those who fear God may seem to be suffering at the hands of the wicked.  This may seem wrong and unfair to us but we must not fall into doubt and despair.  We must trust that God is in control and that He does know what he is doing no matter how much suffering we may need to face.  When we feel this way we can follow the example of the Psalmist and cry out to the Lord. GOD WILL DISCIPLINE THE UNJUST: It is absolutely true that the unjust will be judged according to their deeds and the righteous standard of God.  Even though it may not always appear that this is the case, God is faithful to do so.  The wicked and proud may seem triumphant; they may boast of their victories and they may even trample down the faithful and the helpless.  Orphan

God is in control of the events of this universe.  He is king over the entire world and nothing that happens is beyond His sovereign control.  This is a truth in which we can rest and be assured that His authority is complete.  It is important for us to remember this truth because it will not always be evident in our observations of the events of the world.  We may think that things should operate in a certain way and when they don’t; our tendency is to question God’s control.  That is why He is King and we are not. GOD’S REIGN IS UNCHANGING: God’s reign has always been established over the earth.  The world in which we live seems to be in a constant state of “flux.”  However, one thing has never changed and one thing will never change: God’s reign over the earth.  He is from everlasting and He is everlasting.  It is nice to know that we can always depend upon Him. GOD’S REIGN IS UNCHALLENGED: As we walk on this planet there will be times when we face floods that may seem lik

Gratitude towards God is one of the biggest keys to living a life that is joyful and pleasing to the Lord.  It is not because God needs us to praise Him or thank Him but because it helps us to live our lives with a proper perspective.  It is easy for us to be distracted by the world and influenced by the world in which we live.  As we look around us and consider the ways of the world we might begin to think that God has somehow lost control.  Bad things do happened and they tend to stick in our minds for much longer than the good things.  In fact there are many blessings and good things that happen to us that we simply do not notice unless we stop and intentionally take time to consider the reasons we have for being grateful.  Of course when we take time to consider our reasons for being grateful, that will naturally flow into praise and worship of the Lord.  That is what God created us to do and it is what we feel the most fulfilled in doing.  Thanking and praising the Lord fills our

There are times in our lives when we need a place to hide or protection from danger.  God is that protection and He is our refuge in times of trouble.  He has that ability to take perfect care of us in every situation and we can trust Him fully.  There are many types of dangers that we may face and there are a variety of threats that may leave us fearful.  We can have confidence that the Lord knows and that He is able to give us all of the relief that we need.  This great protection should give us confidence and lead us to worship Him all the days of our lives. GOD DELIVERS US FROM EVILS: There are many types of enemies and dangers that we may face.  There are traps that may be set for us but the Lord is there to protect us like a bird protects her young.  Many evils happen under the cover of darkness or in the horrors of war and due to plagues that may occur but God is able to deliver us from all of those things.  Even when we are surrounded by evil and destruction and danger are

Moses was a man of great accomplishments.  He was miraculously spared as an infant and then was well educated in the home of Pharaoh.  After striking down an Egyptian who was abusing his countryman he was forced to flee and spent forty years tending sheep thinking that his life was over.  By the time he was eighty God called Him to set the children of Israel free from Egypt and God used him to confront Pharaoh with miraculous plagues until they were liberated.  God used Moses to open the Red Sea, deliver the people from countless battles and provide food, water and direction to the people.  Moses was the most prolific author of Scripture and God revealed Himself to Moses in ways that were different from any other man.  However, by far the majority of his ministry was spent leading the children of Israel on a forty year trek through the desert walking in circles while every man under the age of twenty when the people refused to enter The Promised Land, died.  Certainly it must have see

This Psalm starts with a promise to praise the name of the Lord forever, and it ends with a promise to praise the Lord forever.  However, in between the beginning and end, especially the last third of the Psalm there is a great questioning as to how long the Lord would allow His children to suffer.  There are times when it is easy to praise the Lord because of His greatness and His faithfulness.  There are also times when it is not so easy to praise the Lord because of the suffering that we are called to face or even the discipline that the Lord may need to exact upon us because of our disobedience.  The challenge for us is to continually praise Him no matter what circumstances we find ourselves.  Our commitment to praise the Lord needs to be a lifelong commitment that is not dependent upon the circumstances that we face. THE PRAISE OF GOD: There are numerous reasons that should constantly motivate us to praise the Lord and pass our knowledge of His greatness on to the generations

Desperation is not something that we are comfortable with a child of God having to face.  In our minds God would or should never allow one of His children to reach the point of desperation, but that seems to be exactly what this Psalm expresses.  The author is experiencing circumstances that are akin to death and is facing them all alone.  There seems to be nobody that can help or rescue as all others have abandoned.  There are times that we may feel desperate.  God may allow us to face trials that go far beyond what we expect.  In the midst of those trials we tend to look for help from our friends and our family, but there are times when even they may turn away from us.  The only thing we can do in that desperate and alone condition is to cry out to the Lord.  It may seem that He is distant or even absent but we must not turn from Him.  We must turn to Him and continually place ourselves in His hands.  He is worthy of our trust no matter how desperate things may become. THE DESPE

Patriotism is a wonderful yet uncomfortable thing.  Americans tend to be a very patriotic people.  We fly flags, set of amazing firework displays all over the nation on July 4 th and we sing our national anthem on multiple occasions.  Americans are proud of being Americans.  That is a wonderful thing as long as you are in America; however, that patriotism becomes kind of uncomfortable when you live in a foreign country.  That pride in country often comes across as arrogance and it makes others very uncomfortable.  Today’s Psalm is a very patriotic one as the sons of Korah declare God’s love for the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.  All who live in Israel have a great appreciation for this Psalm.  Those who live in New York, São Paulo or Bagdad might look at it in a different light.  There are at least two reasons that God loves this city. JERUSALEM IS LOCATED IN A SPECIAL PLACE: There are many nations and many cities, but Jerusalem is a special city.  It is the sight o

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have as believers.  Sometimes we look at prayer as being a duty and, like many aspects of our walk with Christ, it is also a duty.  However, we must avoid the thinking that prayer is a duty that we must perform in order to somehow “help God.”  We do not pray because God is in need of our help but because we are in need of His help.  David begins this Psalm asking for the Lord to hear his prayer because DAVID is poor and needy.  God does not need anything, He is perfect and complete.  We, on the other hand, need many things because of our physical and spiritual poverty.  This prayer of David’s gives us a good model to follow as we seek to pray in a way that pleases God and helps US. WE MUST RECOGNIZE OUR NEEDS: David calls out to God because he recognizes that he needs God.  David knows that God is the source of help that he desperately needs and so he declares his dependence on the Lord and comes before Him in prayer.  God is good and He

Forgiveness is the greatest blessing that God bestows on His children.  Our greatest need is for forgiveness and God grants it to us based on the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.  The children of Israel had experienced the joy of forgiveness on many occasions.  They had seen God cover their sins and take away all the iniquity of the people.  God’s peace was the reality of their experience, but it was short lived.  Unfortunately, the people turned back to their sin and once again were facing the consequences of their sin.  Sin keeps coming back over and over again in our lives.  It is never content to be defeated once or twice or twenty times.  Sin always seems to find a way to worm itself back into our lives make us miserable all over again.  When that happens, we can do nothing else but what this Psalm does: cry out to the Lord for help. WE MUST ASK THE LORD FOR RESTORATION: Israel had already experienced the joy of restoration before the Lord.  God’s forgiveness had been sweet

Blessings from God are what all of us want in our lives.  We all understand that His blessings are the best blessings and we long to experience them in our lives.  However, the blessings of God are not always as evident as we might like for them to be and they often come packaged in ways that we do not expect or recognize.  In fact there are times that the blessings of God do not look like blessings as all.  That is where the ability to trust God becomes vital in our lives.  We must recognize that just being in God’s presence is blessing far beyond what we deserve and should be the great desire of our hearts.  God’s greatest blessings are not in what He gives us but in who He is and the blessing of being with Him. THE BLESSING OF GOD’S PRESENCE: The dwelling place of God is lovely!  As a write this post I am on vacation with my family in a house on a beach that a member of the church where I am speaking next weekend lent to us.  It is a beautiful and comfortable home right on one